Teen Titans Season 6
by dmiller5783
Summary: Picking up where the show left off on season 5... The titans are faced with a strange enemy as Beastboy leaves Terra at school to join the fight. Though... his emotions are out of control after speaking with Terra. Raven tries to help but starts to see Beastboy in a new light. EDITED AND REVISED! SEE YOU GUYS AT SEASON 7!
1. Case Closed?

**A/N: So I recently rewatched the series ending and I don't know about you, but I NEED to know what happens next. So if no one is going to write it I will lol. I know I may not be the best writer but I'm tired of waiting for the Teen Titans to return. If you guys like this please leave a review for me. This is going to be an ongoing series and your reviews will definitely help motivate me to continue writing. I hope I can do the show justice. Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoy!**

Beastboy was sprinting to the location on his communicator. He knew that if Robin was calling for his back-up that it was pretty serious. He ran so hard his lungs felt like they were burning, his legs felt like cement, and his feet felt uneven. But Beastboy was really sprinting so hard only to numb the pain he had in his chest from what Terra said to him.

_Things change Beastboy. The girl you want me to be is just a memory._

The words were the only thing his mind could focus on. He was heart broken... again. By the same girl. He knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that was her. That was Terra. All the evidence pointed to one conclusion. Her statue was missing, her eyes, her smile, her laugh. It was all too real. There's no way he could be imagining everything.

_Even her scent was the same!_ He thought to himself. He ran even harder to dry the tears that started to pool in his eyes.

Meanwhile at the recycling plant, the battle raged on. Robin, Cyborg, Starfire, and Raven were all fighting this new enemy. It had recently been tossed into a vat of red hot liquid by the team, but this creatures abilities were far beyond supernatural. Any material it touches, and it can instantly become that material. Needless to say this creature was now made up of liquid magma.

"Raven!" Robin shouted while facing down the creature slowly backing away from it. "Find some water to put this thing out! Quickly!"

With a nod from under her hood, Raven was swallowed by her dark energy and teleported somewhere unknown.

Cyborg shot the creature in the back with his sonic cannon. In a fiery rage, it turned from robin and looked down on Cyborg and threw a fist of magma at him. Its arm extended at Cyborg like a long rubber band.

A look of panicked fear came across Cyborgs face. He dove to his left avoiding the initial strike only to find himself seeing another magma fist coming straight at him from the other arm.

In a flash of blinding green light, the fist was stopped right before it got to Cyborg. Thanks to a heavy barrage of starbolts from Starfire hovering above him, letting out a vicious war cry on every starbolt she fired. Once the creature had withdrew his attack on cyborg to defend itself, Starfire flew down and picked Cyborg up to carry him away from the impending doom he nearly fell to.

After the creature saw his target being carried away, it stretched its arms out to capture them both in mid air. Robin wasn't having it though. Using his staff as a pole vault, he launched himself into the air above the creature throwing a circular device at its outstretched arms. On impact the device exploded and the creature's arms had turned to solid ice in a cloud of smoke. Robin then used the momentum from his fall through the air to land a devastating heel kick on the newly formed ice that were, just moments ago, made of magma. They instantly shattered into a thousand shards of ice.

The creature looked down at its dismembered arms un-phased as if it didn't feel pain at all. Within a blink of an eye, the creature grew two new arms and turned its gaze back on Robin.

A dark figure in the shape of a raven suddenly appeared from the ground in between Robin and the creature.

"I think it's time you chilled out." Raven said in her usual monotone voice. With her eyes glowing white with dark energy, and her hands surrounded by dark orbs, she lifted her hands into the air. "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!"

Out of the floor rose a massive pipeline filled with water that came barreling out like a dragon breathing fire. This took the creature by complete surprise and completely drenched the magma he was currently made up of.

A loud hiss of steam filled the room and when it cleared, the four Titans found themselves calmly regrouping around an iron statue of the creature frozen in the position it held right before the water drenched it.

"Good work team," Robin said, "what the heck is this thing?"

"I'll run a molecular scan to see if I can get an idea," Cyborg respond with his scanner already raised.

Just as he got closer, the creature's eyes opened wide and starred straight at him.

"Oh... MAN!!!! You gotta be kidding me!" Cyborg yelled in frustration as he switched his scanner back into his sonic cannon.

The creature then started moving its new iron body as if nothing had changed. The Titans started backing off in every direction unsure how to proceed with their next move. They found themselves in a fight they knew they couldn't win on their own.

As they continued to back up, as a familiar voice cried out from above.

"HEADS UP!" Beastboy yelled. He was swan diving from the top of the recycling plant straight down towards the creature when mid flight he morphed into a massive humpback whale.

The creature looked up just in time to get crushed under the weight of a 300,000 pound sea dweller.

"YEAAAAHHHHH!" The team yelled with approval.

"BOOYAH!" Cyborg yelled happy to see his best friend back in action, "now that's what I'm talkin' about!"

Beastboy changed back to himself to see if the fight was really over. Looking down at the creature, it returned to its original pale white material, looked up at Beastboy, jumped to its feet, and threw a backfist across his jaw. The mighty blow sent Beastboy flying into a pile of steel cross beams. The anger and emotions were starting to boil inside Beastboy.

Starfire, Cyborg, and Robin opened a furious hail storm of starbolts, sonic blasts, and explosives on the creature immediately after it struck Beastboy.

"Enough!" Raven shouted angrily as she moved into a meditative state and sent her spirit form into the creature's body. She vanished inside.

But... Nothing happened.

After a moment she returned to her own body. Her attack was a complete failure. When she awoke in her body she flew over to the others, "I can't make it sleep. Whatever it is, it's not alive!"

"THAT MEANS WE DON'T HAVE TO HOLD BACK!" The furious yell came from across the site. From Beastboy of all people. He transformed into a cheetah sprinting full speed at the creature.

The Titans immediately ceased fire as he got closer to it. With a roar and a swing of his claws, along with the full force of the momentum behind his sprint, he left a massive slash in its chest. The creature turned to strike at the large cat but only struck air as Beastboy ducked under the strike, morphed into a tiny fly, and entered the huge gash he had put in the chest of the creature.

The creature looked down confused... Thinking to play this to its advantage, it regenerated the deep slash trapping BeastBoy inside.

A loud gasp of panic came from Starfire. The rest of the team had a look of terror on their faces. They were frozen with concern for their friends safety.

After a long moment, the creature looked back up at the Titans like it had finished Beastboy off.

"Beastboy!" screamed Starfire.

"No!" Raven cried with sadness.

"Titans! G-" before robin could give the command to save their friend the creature looked back down at its chest. With an ear splitting roar the creature exploded into bits and pieces as a giant green Tyrannosaurus Rex took its place from inside. All the pale white pieces that were part of the creature turned to dust and blew away with a gentle breeze. All that was left in tact was the creature's face. it was mechanical and it's eyes were still glowing red.

Robin reached down to pick it up and as he did the eyes faded to black.

Beastboy returned to his normal state. His back was to the rest of the team, breathing heavily. Tears were in his eyes but he wiped them away, slowed his breathing, and quickly put a friendly face on. He turned to his friends with his normal cheerful voice...

"Duuuuudes! Did you see that?!" He laughed, "now thats what I call head splitter!" His laughed continued but it sounded slightly fake.

The rest of the team looked at him nervously. They all thought that was unbelievably unnecessary.

"Beasyboy," Starfire said shyly, "that was... Um..."

"Brutal," Raven finished for her.

"Yeah man. A little over the top don't you think?" Cyborg added, "not to mention reckless! You had us worried sick, man!"

Beastboy raised his hand to the back of his head with an embarrassed expression on his face, "yeah... uh..."

"What's done is done," Robin finally spoke up, coming to Beastboy's defense, "In the end this thing was on a path of destruction. We had to take it down or hundreds of innocents could have been injured." He turned to look at Beastboy. His look was full of concern but no judgment what-so-ever. "Good work Beastboy."

Beastboy let out a huge sigh of relief as they waited for Robins next order.

Robin put the mechanical face in a containment device and handed it to Cyborg. "We still need to figure out what this thing is and where it came from."

"I'm already on it," said Cyborg taking the containment device as he walked to the T-Car.

Robin looked back at the rest of the team and with a satisfied smile he said, "Let's get out of here."

Later that night the Titans were back at the Tower and Robin was in his study going through old files when Raven walked up to the door of his study. The door was already open so Raven spoke up to make her presence known.

"What's going on Robin? I've been in your mind. I know you wouldn't let that slide even on your best day," Raven spoke with concern in her voice.

"If you're talking about Beastboy, your absolutely right," replied Robin, "but something wasn't right with him. The only time I have ever seem him with that kind of mentality was when we were fighting Terra after she betrayed us."

Raven knew exactly what he was talking about. Beastboy was on a rampage destroying anything in his path between him and Terra. It was the most terrifying thing she had ever seen from him.

"So what are you looking for in these old files then?" She asked curiously.

Robin stopped looking through files as his eyes fixed on a certain folder. He pulled it out quickly. It was not very thick but very recognizable. It had a picture of Terra paper-clipped to the to top right corner, with large red letters on the cover that read _Case Closed. _Under his breath he manged to say one word in response to Raven...

"Answers."


	2. Confused

**A/N: To whomever is reading this I'm trying to make this series as best I can to fit the original 2003-2006 storyline/show/character development/etc. However I would also like to make it a little more on the serious side. So I'll do my best to keep it fun but please don't freak out if its more serious from time to time. After all, the series ended on a pretty serious kind of episode. Anyways... Hope you like it!**

The carnival rides are roaring in the background. Kids are laughing and enjoying themselves. Terra is also laughing and having fun with her friends from school.

It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining and everyone had their favorite summer clothes on. There wasn't a cloud in the sky. It was perfect for a teenager in her youth. Terra wore a huge smile on her face without a care in the world. Life was good.

Terra had just got off a roller coaster with some friends and they were waiting for the rest of their friends to meet up with them to head to another ride just outside the fun house and carnival games. Then a familiar voice from behind her gets her attention.

_"Terra!"_

She turned and looked in the direction of the voice. She found herself starring at the house of mirrors. Confused as to who was calling her name, she turns back to her friends hoping to ask if they heard it too.

_"Hey... did you guys..." _Terra gasped before she could finish.

To her horror, she finds that she is all alone now. In fact... no one was around her. The carnival was abandoned. It looked like no one had been there in years though everything was still functional.

She started to feel uneasy and the sky grew dark as if someone had dimmed the sunlight on command.

_"Terra!"_

The voice called again. It was friendly. Like someone from her childhood was egging her to complete a dare. She started to get nervous. She didn't know who this was after all. But she was getting paranoid and the lonliness was only making it worse. So she started walking towards the house of mirrors to find this friendly voice.

Once inside she saw that many mirrors were shattered but when she entered a circular room surrounded by mirrors they were all in perfect condition. However; her reflection confused her. Or at least... not how it should have confused her. Instead of reflecting a funny or goofy image of herself like the house of mirrors was supposed to, it reflected something else. Something dark.

She could see herself but could barely recognize it was actually her. Her reflection was wearing a slim suit of armor with the emblem "S" on her chest. Her face was fierce with determination and anger even though she herself was not making that expression. What scared her even more was the fact the reflection did not mimic any of her movements. It was as if her reflection was a completely separate person.

Everywhere she looked this other Terra was starring back at her intensely.

_"__It's your life Terra. It's your choice. It's __never too late to change.__"_

Terra looked up at the ceiling. That voice again. It sounded different than before. Like it was lingering in the air all around her. It was so familiar. She could have sworn she heard those words before. She looked back at the mirrors to see the facial expression on the reflection had changed. Her eyes were shut and she looked remorseful. Like she had done something terrible and felt the need to redeem herself.

Terra started walking towards the mirror in front of her...

_"__TERRA!__"_

Terra jumped from the volume of the voice and a jolt of fear chilled her body to the bone. She looked around again to see if the voice had an origin. The voice sounded frightened as if in danger. Just as the voice faded, the reflections face went back to fierce but her eyes remained closed. Terra moved closer to the reflection.

She was so close she could nearly see her breath fog up the mirror. Terra's heart was racing and her imagination was peaking with curiosity. But all this was about to turn to unshakable fear.

Her reflection's eyes shot open, glowing sinister yellow. A sight that could strike fear into the heart of the bravest solider.

Terra stumbled backwards as her legs gave out from under her, and she fell to the ground. Panicking, she crawled backwards to the center of the room looking all around her for an exit only to see the reflection in every direction. Her reflection held a hand out towards her, palm facing down, fingers extended, almost as if her hand was controlling something.

_"__TERRA NO!__"_

Immediately following those words the ground underneath Terra started to rumble. The reflection grew a dark smirk like she was about to enjoy what happend next. Her hair started to defy gravity and her aura started to glow the same sinister yellow as her eyes.

_"__NO!!!__"_

She closed her hand into a fist and all the mirrors around Terra shattered as the ground cracked in every direction under her and crumbled into a deep and dark abyss that seemed to have no end. Terra shrieked in horror as fell in the darkness.

She jolted awake with a loud and frightened gasp. She sat straight up in bed. She was breathing heavily as beads of sweat rolled down her forehead. Her heart was pounding in her chest. She looked around to find she was in her room. The time read 2:55AM on her digital clock that sat on her night stand next to her bed. She started to calm down when she realized it was just a dream. Reality started to set in. This wasn't the first time she had this dream. She curled her knees into her chest, put her head down and started to cry into her lap.

_Why does this keep happening? _She thought to herself as she sobbed. _Ever since that kid talked to me at school, I keep having the same dream over and over._

Terra may not remember anything from her past but the war inside herself was still far from over.

It's been a week since she spoke to Beastboy. But every day since, she's had the same nightmare.

Back at the tower Raven and Robin were sitting on the couch. Raven with a new book and Robin watching tv. Cyborg was in the garage working on the T-Car waiting on results from scan he used on the mechanical creature to finally produce something useful.

Starfire was in the kitchen cooking food from her home planet. It had a very slimy smell and looked like sweet potatoes mixed with creamy mud

"Friends!" Starfire exclaimed to Raven and Robin, "would you care to try my home world's meal of glargnack? It is most delicious!"

Raven looked up from her book at Robin with a stern _you can't be serious_ look on her face. Robin picked up on that, turned to Starfire and politely declined.

"No thanks, Star. Appreciate the offer though!" He said with a smile.

Starfire was not surprised and didn't press the offer any further and floated with her homemade meal back to her room with a smile from ear to ear.

Raven looked at Robin unsure if she should say anything. But now that they were alone she figured this might be her only chance. She closed her book and spoke up.

"Robin," she started, "it's been a week since Beastboy went berserk on that... thing. He hasn't come out of his room for anything other than food. I'm starting to worry... This is getting serious."

Robin continued watching tv but listened intently to what raven said. He heard the insistent urgency in her voice.

"I agree," he finally replied, "but I have no idea how to help him. We all tried talking to him. He even turned down Starfire when she knocked on his door," he turned to face Raven, his expression was strict and serious, "I think he really might have run into Terra. What else could have affected him to this level?"

As much as Raven hated to admit it, Robin was right. Terra has been the only one who ever affected him on an emotional level like this.

She looked down at her hands holding her book in her lap, "What did _you_ try saying to him?"

"I just asked if he wanted to talk about anything," Robin respond looking back at the tv, "you know me. I'm not the type to intrude on anyones privacy." Robin spoke with a small amount of confusion as to why Raven cared so much about this.

Raven slowly looked back up at Robin, "well you should _try_ harder," Raven shot back with force.

Robins gaze shifted back to Raven with a raised eyebrow. This response took him by surprise, "well... uh... I don't even know what I'd say..." He lifted his hand to his chin pondering how a conversation with Beastboy would have gone if he tried talking to him. He then lowered his hand and looked back at Raven, "have _you_ talked to him? Is there something you know that I don't?"

Raven blushed and realized how she sounded when she put Robin on the spot like that. She looked back down at her hands still holding her book in her lap and asked herself why she said that. She's never felt this way towards a teammate's emotional well-being before. She started to wonder why she was feeling like this.

"N-no." She studdered as she recovered from her thoughts, "I haven't tried talking to him." Her blush started to fade as she sighed and opened up her book, "I kinda wish someone would commit a crime so it would _force_ him out of his room."

Just as she finished that sentence the lights went red and started flashing. Alarms bellowed through the tower as Starfire, Cyborg and Beastboy made their way into the living area where Robin and Raven were. Raven looked up from her book at Robin with an expression that screamed _don't even say it._

Robin looked at Raven and smiled, "careful what you wish for." He looked back at the rest of the team, "TITANS MOVE!"


	3. The Mad School

**A/N: To anyone reading this, I'm trying to get a chapter written every day. So far so good. I have tons of ideas for where this can go. I just have to go over every chapter over and over to make sure I'm not leaving anything out. But a few ideas slip here and there. So I will be updating chapters as I go along! As always please leave me a review and let me know how I'm doing. I'm always open to constructive criticism. Hope you like it!**

The titans were on their way to a distress signal from the inner city. Raven and Starfire flew overhead while Robin was speeding on his bike next to Cyborg and Beastboy in the T-Car.

"Listen up team," Robin relayed from his communicator, "we've recieved multiple calls about a mad man terrorizing a school in the inner city. Our mission is to take him down with no causalities to the students or faculty of the school. It's a high school with a population of 500 students. So it's going to be a filled with kids ages 13-18 so be extra cautious with your surroundings."

"Right!" The team respond in unison. As they approached the school. Beastboy got a knot in his stomach. He was starting to recognize where they were and, more importantly, he started to realize what school they were headed to.

_Please be ok. _Beastboy thought to himself. His nervousness for the safety of Terra was causing him to clench his fists.

"Yo! BB!" Cyborg said from the driver's seat, "you hear me?!"

"Huh? What?" Beastboy was so stuck in his head he didn't hear a word his best friend said.

"I said, we really need you on this one. We're counting on you to be smart and work with the team!" Cyborg replied trying to encourage his friend.

"Oh! Right. Got it. Don't worry, I can handle it." But Beastboy had other things on his mind. If it came down to it... he'd save Terra no matter what the cost.

They approached the school to witness something they'd only imagined in horror films. They all pulled in front of the school and came to a halt. All the students and staff we're hypnotized and under the control of someone else. It was almost like a zombie film centered around a middle school.

"O...k. This is creepy even for me." Raven said trying to break the tension.

The schools front side quad had a jumbo screen for announcements and urgent information. The screen had been hijacked and had a giant spiral of black and white spinning slowly on display. Most of the students and staff were starring directly at it completely brain dead and dazed by it. Robin instantly knew who was behind the attack. Before he could say it, the screen changed channels to a display of Mad Mod sitting in the principals chair.

"Ellllllloooo my duckies!" He exclaimed half laughing, "sorry to tell ya's but you've been expelled! Only straight A students allowed in _my _school!" he laughed.

"Mad Mod," Robin said angrily, "what game are you playing this time?!"

"No games ol' chap! Just teaching my new class all about current events!" He pointed to the new curriculum written on the white board behind him.

It read: _Teen Titans: the root of all evil._

"Since I couldn't teach you lot properly, I decided I'd start with the next generation!" Mad Mod declared with confidence.

"Root of all evil? Man, who in their right mind would ever believe that?" Cyborg said half jokingly.

"These people aren't in their right minds anymore," Raven responded, "if Mad Mod has told them we're evil they will believe it even if it's not true."

"Oh... Yeah. I knew that." Cyborg said feeling a little embarrassed.

"Then... How do we prove our innocence?" Starfire asked.

"We have to take down Mad Mod before he gets a chance to make a lasting impression," Robin said angrily.

"Now, now, my duckies," Mad Mod said toying with them, "they also think I'm the greatest thing to happen to the planet earth!" He started laughing hysterically, "they'll defend me to the death if they have to! Do you think you got what it takes to harm this poor lot just to get to me?" He continued laughing.

Robin grit his teeth in rage. He knew Mad Mod thought this out carefully. He put himself at the center of the school surrounded by hundreds of mind controlled slaves that will answer his beckon call. All these people are innocent and there's no way Robin could risk hurting them.

More than that, this was a completely different angle Mad Mod was playing. A lot darker and way more cruel.

"Robin what's the plan?" Cyborg asked with urgency.

Robin sat still for a moment trying to think of a way to resolve this without violence. When an idea finally came to him.

"Alright listen up," he said with confidence, "we need to get everyone to snap out of their hypnosis. The way we do that is by making them laugh. We know this works from all the times Beastboy became hypnotised from Mad Mods last attack."

"Hey! I only got hypnotised because he snuck up on me!" Beastboy said crossing his arms and pouting. His face turned bright read with embarrassment.

"Ok... but how do we get this many people to all laugh at once?" Raven asked.

"How about the screen?" Cyborg said pointing to the jumbo screen, "they're all already fixed on it. If we can just cut the signal from Mad Mod, and patch a new signal with our own reciever we could broadcast something funny and make everyone in the quad laugh all at once."

"Good idea Cyborg," Robin said eager to get started, "Raven and I will cut the signal and set up a reciever on the the jumbo screen. Once we have you patched through be sure you show these people something they can all laugh at."

"Oh... I think I got you covered," Cyborg said menacingly as he looked over at Beastboy with a smirk.

"What?" Beastboy shot back at him with concern. He did not like the sound of that.

"Alright. Let's do it team! Titans, go!" Robin yelled.

Raven and robin were both engulfed in her dark energy and vanished. They quickly reappeared next to the jumbo screen where robin cut the incoming signal and patched a new receiver with a direct link to Cyborgs transmission.

Cyborg got out of the T-Car and pushed a button on the dash that opened a camera on the roof of the T-Car that followed his every move. Whistling to himself the whole time without a care in the world. He motioned to Beastboy to get out of the car. Beastboy being very cautious got out slowly and walked over to where his whistling friend was standing. It was obvious Beastboy was going to be the center of attention.

"Alright the reciever is set! Hurry, the studnets are starting to notice us up here." Robin said desperately as he watched the students move closer and closer towards himself and Raven.

"You got it!" Said Cyborg with a giddy chuckle. He finally stopped whistling and pushed a button on his arm and the camera fired up and began to transmit to the reciever Robin set up. Once he could see himself on the jumbo screen he immedately reached over to Beastboy towards the back of his belt, and pulled up Beastboy's underwear as high as they could go.

A high pitched squeal rang out and resonated for a long moment from the little green hero. Followed by a thunderous uproar of laughter. Everyone in the quad was laughing and were no longer under the control of Mad Mods hypnosis.

"I told you I could make them all laugh!" Cyborg said leaning over his stomach from laughing too hard himself.

Beastboy tucked his underwear away, transformed into a gorilla and smacked Cyborg into the building next to them leaving a sizable dent in the bricks. Cyborg who anticipated this reaction got up dusted himself off and laughed one last time.

"Oh man!" He said wiping tears of joy from his face, "so worth it!"

"Everyone return to your homes immediately!" Robin shouted to the newly freed students, "There's trouble in the school and we're here to take care of it!"

Everyone left the school as they were told, though they were dazed and confused by what just happened.

Beastboy turned into a hawk and flew over to where Raven and Robin were standing next to the jumbo screen of the school. When he landed he resumed his normal body and was still trying to get the wedgie settled back to normal.

Raven couldn't help but chuckle a little as he adjusted himself.

"What's so funny?" Beastboy asked angrily as he gave her a dirty look.

Raven quickly stopped herself and pretend nothing happened. Starfire arrived shortly after carrying Cyborg and they all entered the school through a sky light in the roof behind the jumbo screen. Once they hit the floor of the main hallway they were met with hundreds of students still under Mad Mods control. Robin thought quickly and instead of breaking the hypnosis with jokes he threw down a gadget that made a massive smoke screen that engulfed the entire hall way. This was the best way to get through the hoard of students without hurting them.

"What about them?" Beastboy asked pointing to the students they were about to run past.

"They'll have to wait. We need to get to Mad Mod and reverse the Hypnosis manually." Robin replied quickly.

They ducked through the smoke screen dodging in and out of the students to avoid any damage to them. They passed by without being seen but their presence didn't go unnoticed. The hypnotized students slowly followed behind them like mindless zombies following the sound of footsteps. But Beastboy couldnt help but pick up a very familiar scent as he passed one of the students. He knew instantly his darkest fear had come true.

Terra was in the school... and she was under Mad Mods control.


	4. Strength and Weakness

**A/N: Thanks for reading and thank you for the comments and reviews. To clear up some confusion really quick: Mad Mod is NOT a main villain in this season. However one thing that always annoyed me from the other seasons of Teen Titans was the lack of character development on the villain's side. They never seem to change or grow with the show. So I wanted to change that. No villain ever stays the exact same right? Hope that clears things up! Alright, on with the story!**

When they finally arrived at the Principals office. The door was locked. Cyborg flipped open a lock pick from his finger's utility compartment and was about to start picking the lock when the door rushed open with a loud smash. It was kicked in by Beastboy. He took the form of a horse and used his back legs to punch through the door with ease.

Cyborg stood frozen for a second in shock, "well ok then..." he said coyly.

Beastboy changed to himself and barged into the room past Cyborg followed by the others right behind him.

"It's over Mod! Give up now and set everyone free!" Beastboy demanded furiously.

Robin looked at him confused_, that's... my line... _He thought to himself.

"I would my little ducky but first you'll have to get past my best mate here," Mad Mod made it known that he was not alone in the room. The school principal stood next to him hypnotized. He moved in front of Mod, getting in between him and the Titans.

Beastboy turned into a tiger and roared long and loud at the principal. He crouched down and was about to pounce but before he could, Cyborg jumped on Beastboy tackling him to the ground.

"Beastboy stop!" Yelled Starfire, "he is not our enemy!"

"Yeah, man!" Cyborg add as he was literally wrestling a tiger, "what's gotten into you?! We're here to save the people not hurt them!"

The principal lunged at the two Titans wrestling on the floor but before he got to them he was engulfed in dark energy and hoisted into the air.

"I've got the principal," Raven announced, "Go after Mad Mod-"

Before she could finish Mad Mod had already deployed his escape plan. The principal was just a decoy. The chair he was sitting in had been rebuilt into a rocket propelled chair that Mod could control in flight. It launched straight through the ceiling and into the air out of the school.

"So long my duckies! Try not to hurt that lot too much now!" He laughed as he took off.

This was his plan all along. He didn't want to teach the next generation that the Teen Titans were evil, he wanted to _show _them they were. First hand.

"Starfire!" Robin yelled as he motioned to her to pick him up and chase after Mod. The two of them took off as Mod flew through the air. He was too fast for Starfire to catch up to though. Especially with her carrying Robin. So in a last minute act of desperation she threw Robin with all her alien strength towards the flying chair.

Robin wasted no time. As soon as he was in range he fired his grappling hook and locked on to the rockets of the chair. He instantly felt the force of the rockets pulling him through the air. While he was in tow, he threw a small explosive at the rockets and the explosion destroyed one of the engines. The chair instantly lost power and began to slowly descend.

Back at the school Beastboy was starting to calm down after Cyborg had pinned him down. Beastboy changed back to himself and Cyborg helped him up but when they turned around the students had already caught up to them and were right outside the door to the principal's office.

"Uh-oh," said Cyborg starting to get nervous. He was beginning to realize he might have to hurt these people just to protect himself.

Raven pushed the principal through the doorway and put him with the others while creating a barricade of dark energy over the door to hold them off. All the students that could fit in the doorway started pounding on the black shield which walled them off. Each student was getting involuntarily pushed off by another. It was like they were taking turns pounding on the darkness that was holding them back. They continued and never stopped like an endless hoard of an undead army. Beads of sweat started to form on Raven's brow. She was starting to struggle to keep the shield up. It wouldn't be much longer before she couldn't hold it anymore.

A familiar face then surfaced on the other side of the shield. It was unmistakable even through the dark energy. Beastboy's heart sank. It was Terra. She was still hypnotized. Beastboy approached the black shield unsure what he was going to say.

"Terra," Beasboy said softly. When she didn't respond he raised his voice, "Terra! You have to wake up! We're your friends! You know we'd never hurt anyone!"

Terra stood there starring back at him with lifeless eyes and started to pound on the barrier.

"Beastboy!" Raven yelled struggling to concentrate, "Get away from her! I don't know how much longer I can keep this up!"

But her voice fell on deaf ears as he was committed to getting her to snap out of it.

"Terra," he started softly again. He remembered what Terra said to her. How things change, "Terra... It's never too late to change." Beastboy sounded like he was starting to lose hope.

Terra's face lit up with emotion though her eyes remained lifeless. _That voice. I know that voice. _She found herself back at the carnival. All around her she could see the mirrors again. But they no longer held a reflection of her dark self but a reflection of the person who stood in front of her. A reflection of Beastboy.

Beastboy noticed her change in emotion and it reanimated him. He put both hands on the opposite side of Ravens shield as if he were about to catch Terra.

"TERRA!" Beastboy yelled, "You have to wake up! You're in control. You! No one else!"

Terra could see the reflection of Beastboy's lips moving with a very faint voice following them. _You're in control. You. No one else._ The words floated through the air with an echo around her.

Tears rolled down Terra's face as she was no longer pounding on the black shield. She blinked a few times and the lifeless eyes started to gain strength.

"Beastboy?" she said softly.

"No way." Cyborg said under his breath.

"Raven! Let her in! She's not safe around the others!" Beastboy pleaded.

"WE'RE not safe around the others!" Raven argued still fighting to maintain the barrier that had 20 different hands pounding on it.

"RAVEN! NOW! LET HER IN!" Beastboy demanded.

Terra was exhausted from fighting the hypnosis. She hadn't had a good night sleep since the last time she spoke to Beastboy. She was beginning to show serious signs of fatigue.

"Beastboy," she said softly again. This time she said it like she knew him. But her knees grew weak and her eyes slowly shut as she fainted. She started to collapse backwards into the hoard of students. If she fell to the floor she would definitely get trampled by the others that were still hypnotized and that's exactly where she was headed.

She hit the floor with a loud thud and the students began stepping all over her. To them, she was just part of the floor.

Raven saw this and knew she would have no choice but to let her barrier down if they were to save Terra. As much as she despised her she didn't want her dead. Besides, Raven didn't know for sure if this was actually Terra. For all she knew this was just some innocent person who looked like her. She released her barrier with a slight yell, like lifting a huge weight off her back. But Terra continued to get crushed by more of her fellow students as they started moving into the principal's office.

Beastboy's anger consumed him. He transformed into a bull and charged through the crowd with his head down knocking everyone off Terra sending them flying across the hall outside the door.

Raven and Cyborg stood there in shock for moment. Beastboy had gone way too far. But they both knew that if he hadn't, that girl lying on the floor would mostly likely not make it.

Cyborg rushed to the door and grabbed Terra's nearest ankle and pulled her into the room and started assessing any damage she took.

Terra looked like a tenderized steak. Her skin was already black and blue in places, and her right arm was bent unnaturally.

"This is not good. We need to get her to a hospital now!" He yelled to the others.

Flying through the sky robin climbed the the rope of his grappling hook as the chair was slowly descending. He finally got to the chair and grabbed Mad Mod by the collar of his shirt.

"Set everyone free!" He demanded.

"Right... about that..." Mod sounded nervous.

"NOW!" It was clear Robins Patience was starting to wear thin if not already gone.

"I can't!" Mod said truthfully, "my chair controls everything and there is no off switch!"

"Everything has an off switch," Robin replied angrily. He pulled out an explosive from his belt, grabbed Mod and jumped off the chair with Mod secured tightly to himself. After he jumped he left behind the explosive that started beeping. The beeping continued to increase in speed before the explosive finally detonated a few hundred feet above the city. The chair was completely destroyed.

He and Mad Mod were in a free fall but Robin wouldn't let him go. Just before they were about to hit the ground Starfire came flying in and caught them before their certain death as a flattened stain in the street. She set them down and Robin put restraints on Mad Mod.

He opened his communicator and reached out to the others.

"Cyborg, Report! Is everyone alright?!" He asked desperately.

At the school beastboy was standing in the doorway kicking his front hoove backwards as if getting ready to charge again. Behind him, Raven and Cyborg were treating Terra as best they could for her injuries.

Then, just before Beastboy was about to charge the students again, the students were no longer coming at them. They lost all aggression, stopped in their tracks, and started asking, "where am I?" as they looked around frantically.

Beastboy Transformed back to himself and looked down at the students he had charged through. They were teens like himself. Close to his age, if not the same age as him. But they were on the ground in pain. Some worse than others. All because of him.

Raven looked over to Beastboy. She could feel an ominous energy coming off of him.

"Beastboy," Raven said trying to get Beastboy's attention so that she could get everyone close enough to teleport.

Beastboy didn't hear her. His eyes were fixed on the damage he'd done. Beastboy's face turned into a mixture of fear and sadness. He looked down at his hands. They were shaking uncontrollably.

"Beastboy!" Raven called louder.

He started breathing heavily and his breaths grew shorter and faster with each passing second. The guilt caused a panic attack in Beastboy. Not knowing what else to do, he transformed into a sparrow and flew out the hole in the ceiling that Mad Mod had used to escape.

"BEASTBOY!" Raven yelled reaching out to him turning from Terra who still lay unconscious. Raven was desperately trying to stop him from leaving. But it was too late. He was gone.

Over the communicator the two Titans in the school heard Robins voice.

_Cyborg report! Is everyone alright?!_

Cyborg looked around at the the students on the ground, then back at Terra who lay in front of him, then at Raven. She had tears in her eyes and still hadn't looked away from where Beastboy had flown off.

Cyborg lowered his head, lift his arm just high enough to respond and replied to Robin...

"No, we're not ok here."


	5. Right vs Wrong

**A/N: To anyone reading this. Thank you. Please leave a review let me know what you think. If you find any plot holes please share so I can address them. Nothing worse than a plot hole that ruins the story. Hope you like it!**

"Cyborg! What happened?! Where are you?!" Robin was in a panic after he heard Cyborg's report. He was still with Mad Mod and Starfire miles away from the school where all the choas had taken place.

_"Meet us at the hospital,"_ Cyborg replied on Robin's communicator, _"I'll explain everything there,"_ he sounded serious and concerned.

Starfire overheard and raised her hand to cover her mouth. She was fighting back tears assuming the worst.

"What did Cyborg mean by this? Our friends are unharmed, yes?" Starfire said choking on her words.

Robin put his communicator away. Standing completely still like stone with his back to Starfire.

"Robin?" Starfire's voice began to crack as as tears started to fall.

Robin started to shake with anger. He turned to Mad Mod as fury burned in his eyes to the point you could see it through his mask. He picked up Mod by the collar with his left arm and pinned him to the building next to them. He drew his right fist back as far as he could ready to send it straight through Mod's teeth.

Mad Mod cried out in horror trembling at the freakish strength this teen was showing. He tried moving his face as far from Robin's right side as he could to make the damage as little as possible on himself. He was already wincing with pain before the strike had even landed.

Robin stared him down. His fist shaking with anger behind him. He knew it was wrong to injure Mod any further but he didn't care. With a rush of wind his fist snapped forward like a bullet.

Mad Mod shook with fear. He knew Robin had sent his fist flying at him... Yet... He was still bracing for the impact. Mod opened his left eye and turned his head to see Robins fist less than an inch away from his face. It was buried in the wall of building he was pinned against. Robin had missed intentionally.

Mod let out a sigh of relief. But fear stuck again when Robin grabbed him by the collar with both hands and pulled him in face to face.

"Consider yourself lucky the prison is on the way to the hospital." Robin said with the illest of intentions behind his words. He looked at Starfire and nodded towards her to fly them to the prison.

Starfire, with her hands still covering her mouth and tears on her cheeks, nodded back at him. Without wiping her tears she picked them both up, one in each arm, and started flying in the direction of the prison.

Back at the school Cyborg was treating Terra for multiple broken bones and a concussion. She was stomped on by at least 20 students before the shield went down allowing her to get trampled by an additional 20 students crashing through the door before Beastboy ruthlessly bulldozed them off of her like a battering ram. It all happened so fast it was scary, even to the Titans.

"Raven," Cyborg called, but she didn't hear him. She was still feeling the pain Beastboy had emitted as he flew away. A pain she knew all too well. The suffering of knowing what you've done. A guilt you carry like a knife in your heart.

"Raven!" He called louder but still no response.

"RAVEN!" Cyborg could have shook the building with how loud he yelled. But it was enough to finally snap her out of it. She looked at Cyborg who was kneeling over Terra, still unconscious.

Cyborg saw the tears in her eyes and started to understand what was going on. But he couldn't think about that right now. He needed to take care of Terra.

"Can you get us to a hospital?" He said slowly and clearly emphasizing how dire the situation is.

Raven wiped her eyes and raised her hands with glowing dark orbs surrounding them. In an instant her dark energy surrounded the three of them and they vanished.

Robin and Starfire had finally reached the prison after what felt like an eternity. They handed Mad Mod over to the police and watched him literally get thrown into a jail cell with a thud. They watched as the barred door slammed behind him.

Robin turned to walk towards the exit, "You're lucky _we're_ the good guys," Robin said over his shoulder to Mod trying to make it sting after he had tried smearing the Titan name.

"Are you now?" Mod replied feeling much safer now that steel bars stood between him and Robin, "I'd wager if you're heading to the hospital your little friends must have done some serious damage to those poor little sods at the school," his voice sounded cruel and evil. Much worse than they've ever seen from Mad Mod before, "I'd say you look pretty bad right about now," Mod spat through a sinister smile.

Robin froze in his tracks realizing Mod could be right. But he didn't have time to play these games. He started sprinting to the door with Starfire.

"Robin?" Starfire said rich with sadness in her voice, "what happened?"

"I don't know Star," Robin said in a frustrated tone as they exited the prison.

"Our friends are unharmed, correct?" She wouldn't rest until Robin gave a clear answer. She desperately needed reassurance. But Robin isn't the kind of guy to sugar coat anything, "Robin? Surely they were victorious-"

"I DON'T KNOW STARFIRE!" He yelled so loud that Starfire jumped. She knew this was extremely serious now and started crying harder.

They stopped running towards the hospital and he turned to face Starfire. He was hurting inside. This was bound to be something that could tear the Titans apart. The last thing he wanted to do was contribute to it.

With his head held low he spoke calmly, "I'm sorry Star. It's not looking good. But we need to get to the hospital and find out what happened." He took her hand as she was sobbing with her head lower than Robin's. She wrapped her arms around his chest seeking comfort like a small child. Robin wrapped his arms around her and whispered into her ear.

"We'll be ok Starfire. I promise." But he didn't sound very confident.

At the hospital Cyborg stood outside the window of the recovery room where Terra was laying on a hospital bed, still unconscious. He still couldn't believe she was alive. Not from getting trampled by a hoard of zombified students, but from being turned to stone after saving everyone from an active volcano. In any case, he had no doubt this was _the _Terra.

He saw Robin approaching behind him in the reflection of the glass. Before Robin could speak Cyborg laid everything out for him without turning around to face him.

"It's BB," he said with seriousness, "it's not looking too good for him. He hurt a lot of kids today."

His eyes never left Terra. He was fixed on her, watching her vitals like a hawk.

Robin's eyes went wide. He had stopped approaching as soon as Cyborg spoke. He stood behind Cyborg's right shoulder in shock.

"He... He had to have a reason," Robin said weakly, "he's been pretty emotional lately but he'd never go that far." Robin turned his head away from Cyborg trying to figure out why this happened.

"He _did _have a reason," Cyborg quickly clarified. Robin raised his head back to Cyborg. He was curious why his friend was so intent on staring into this recovery room. Robin moved up and stood next him and his jaw dropped.

"Is that..." He couldn't even finish the sentence.

"It's Terra," Cyborg confirmed, "DNA scans confirm it," he looked down at robin, "there's no doubt."

"I can't believe it," Robin replied eyes still wide with disbelief. Now _he_ couldn't take his eyes off her vitals, "what happened to her?"

"Beastboy," replied Cyborg, "he somehow got through to her while she was still hypnotized. She snapped out of it on her own. But it was too much for her to handle and she passed out," he looked down at his feet, "she was crushed under the feet of multiple people."

"How bad is it?" Robin asked, his voice filled with concern.

"From what I assessed," he looked back up at her vitals, "she has a broken arm, four cracked ribs, and a skull fracture," Cyborg said with certainty, "she wouldn't have made if Beastboy hadn't..." He trailed off looking down with his eyes closed. He knew what Beastboy did was wrong but necessary to save her life. He looked back up at Terra's vitals seeing her heart still beating, "he had no choice."

"I see," Robin was in a difficult position. He didn't know the full details but he knows that Beastboy would have gone to extreme measures to save her from anything, "where is Beastboy now?"

"We don't know," Cyborg said feeling a little thankful. The last thing he wanted to do was possibly have to detain his best friend for threatening a dozen students lives, "he panicked and took off without a word."

"How bad was it?" Robin asked Cyborg as he braced for the worst.

Cyborg lowered his head again. He didn't want to explain it. He knew it would only make things worse for his best friend.

"Cyborg," Robin said growing impatient, "how bad?"

Cyborg raised his head but didn't look at Robin, "there's 10 other recovery rooms here all with teenagers from that school in them," that's as much as he could force himself to say.

"What?!" Robin gasped in disbelief, "how?!"

"I told you," Cyborg raised his voice, "Terra would have DIED if BB didn't do what he did!" Cyborg looked down at Robin. Robin stared right back and wouldn't look away. Cyborg sighed and retuned his gaze back at Terra, "they'll be fine. Just a few broken bones and some headaches. That's it. All the others walked away with some bumps and bruises." Cyborg was trying to down-play the damages to make his friend seem less in trouble than he really is but he knew deep down that Beastboy was never going to walk away from this.

Robin looked back at Terra. He watched her heart monitor continue to beep proving she was still alive. Robin was stuck. He knew that Beastboy had to take responsibility for what he did... but Robin couldn't help but think... He would have done the same thing if he were in Beastboy's place.

They stood in scilence for a long time before Robin finally realized a team member was missing.

"Where's Raven?" Robin asked.

"She's on the roof," Cyborg replied softly, "said she needed to be alone." Cyborg looked behind him and also realized someone was missing. "Where's Starfire?"

"In the waiting room," Robin respond uneasy, "you know her... She couldn't handle seeing any of us in one of these rooms. I'm sure if she knew it was Terra in that bed she'd breakdown."

They both continued to watch Terra as she laid there unconscious. It was like looking at a miracle gone wrong. The discomfort was intense. Getting her back and losing her again just as quick would have been heart breaking for the entire team.

"He had no choice," Robin said under his breath finally agreeing with Cyborg. He had no idea how he was going to handle this.


	6. People Change

**A/N: To those of you leaving me reviews, thank you so much! I'm not going to give any spoilers but some of you are way ahead of me and have some really close guesses. I think we all know how hard it is to let go of something you're emotionally attached to. That's pretty much what this season is centered around. The inner battle is always so much worse than it appears on the outside. With that said I hope you enjoy this chapter! Thanks again!**

_Azarath, metrion, zinthos._

Raven hovered on the roof of the hospital, meditating. She was unsure what was going on with her emotions. The only thing she did know was that Beastboy was missing... and it hurt.

_Azarath, metrion, zinthos._

"But why? Why do I care so much?" She asked herself deep in meditation. "Things happen. People change. There's no point losing control of your emotions over it," she was starting to get frustrated at herself, "calm down, breathe, clear your mind," she told herself trying to keep it together.

_Azarath, metrion, zinthos._

Images of Beastboy continued to flash through her mind. The time he helped her defeat her anger. The time he comforted her when Malchior had manipulated her. The time he turned into the beast to protect her... Then the image of him flying away in panic.

She couldn't seem to block out the images no matter how hard she tried.

_Azarath, metrion..._

"Ahhh! Just forget it!" She yelled at herself in frustration. Floating down to sit on the edge of the roof.

A familiar voice soothed the air as Starfire approached behind her.

"Friend, what troubles you?" Starfire asked, "I too am troubled. Might we talk to help ease the pain of our sorrows?"

"I don't feel troubles. I don't feel sorrows. I'm fine." Raven respond in her usual dark tone.

"I do," Starfire replied sadly, "they make me feel most unpleasant," she was holding her hands over her heart, "but I suppose... I depend on such feelings."

Raven turned to look at Starfire, "depend on them?" she asked confused.

Starfire nod her head. "It reminds me of what I have that I might lose," tears started to form in Starfire's eyes, "I dare not imagine what life would be like if one of my friends were to..." She trailed off. Almost terrified to finish the sentence. She blinked away the tears, put her hands in her lap, and looked at Raven with a small smile. "These unpleasant feelings keep me fighting to ensure that does not happen."

Raven looked out at the view in front of them. From the roof of the hospital they could see the entire city with the ocean behind it. It was a gorgeous view. The city lights danced in front of the moonlit ocean.

"I don't really know why... But... I can't seem to stop thinking about Beastboy." Raven's eyes widend and she looked at Starfire with concern... She couldn't believe she just said that out loud. She waited to see Starfire's reaction before saying anything else.

Starfire was also admiring the view, "I too worry about him as well," she replied, "where ever he may be, I hope he is safe."

Raven let out a sigh of relief. She was glad Starfire hadn't asked her _why _she couldn't stop thinking about Beastboy.

"I hope so too," Raven said thinking that was the end of it.

"Raven," Starfire said looking at Raven, "why do you choose to hide your feelings for Beastboy?"

Raven nearly fell over from the impact of that question. Even _she _didn't know the answer to that. She didn't even know if she really had feelings for Beastboy in the first place.

"Uhhhh... What are you talking about Starfire?" Raven asked with a blush.

"I see the way in which you behave whenever he speaks of Terra," she said with care, "I can see it bothers you deeply."

Raven thought about it for a second. Starfire had a point. Whenever anyone else on the team would bring her name up she would give her honest opinion on what she thought of her. But whenever Beastboy would talk about her she would get furious.

Terra betrayed them and Beastboy still defends her like she's completely innocent. She thought she was getting angry with Beastboy more than anything but the others defend her too from time to time and she doesn't think anything of it.

"It doesn't bother me," Raven respond defensively, "I guess... I just wish..."

"Yes?" Starfire urged her to continue, trying to help.

A long moment of silence followed as Raven struggled to figure out her own emotions.

Finally Raven spoke up, "I just..." She started to get more frustrated, "ahhh, I don't know!" Raven responded putting her head down in her hands. Her hands covered her temples while her fingers wrapped towards the back of her head. It was like she was trying to delete thoughts from her mind.

Starfire leaned over to her and put a hand on Raven's shoulder.

Raven lowered her hands and looked at Starfire. She could see in her eyes that she could tell her anything and Starfire would never tell another living soul as long as she lived.

"I just wish..." Raven turned her head away and closed her eyes trying to bury any emotion that might surface, "that he spoke that way about me," she finally responded with honesty.

Starfire's eyes went wide. She immediately understood. Raven had literally brought on the end of the world. Something truly unforgivable. No one would ever want to be friends with her if they knew what she's done. However, she never wanted to. She was good. Fighting evil. In the end, the power of her father's prophecy was too strong for her to fight. But the thing is... she fixed it. She saved the world. She is more of a hero than any of the Titans. Where as Terra tried to destroy the Titans and take over the city intentionally. She wanted to be with Slade. She chose that path. It wasn't until she was nearly defeated and Slade turned on her that she realized her mistake. In the end, she nearly destroyed the entire city by accident but sacrificed herself to save everyone. To anyone, it would be hard to say who was worse and who deserves forgiveness more.

But if thats the case... then why doesn't Beastboy feel the same way towards Raven?

"What makes her so special?" Raven started to tremble, "Why doesn't anyone look at _me_ the way he looks at Terra?" She paused and looked at Starfire with tears in her eyes, "or the way Robin looks at you?" Raven was on the verge of breaking down.

"Raven..." Starfire didn't know what to say. She was fortunate enough to have someone look at her with desire the very moment she arrived on Earth. Raven had been here for a long time and was still waiting to be noticed by anyone.

"Why doesn't _anyone_..." Raven trembled unable to finish her sentence. She closed her eyes before her tears could find their way out. She wanted to cry but wouldn't let herself.

Starfire moved herself closer to Raven and wrapper her arms around her with tears in her eyes. She wanted to cry for Raven.

Raven collected her thoughts, brushed off Starfire, and sat up straight. She didn't want to seem rude but the emotion radiating off of Starfire was causing her to want to cry even more. Starfire let her go and they both sat in silence for a moment.

"Why did _you _come up to the roof Star?" Raven asked trying to break the silence and change the subject.

Starfire looked at her with a half smile, "I had flown up to the roof to get some of, the air. I also wished to look upon the stars." She looked up at the flickers of light that hung in the sky, "I have always found such comfort in the stars. It reminds me of home," she looked back at Raven, "they also remind me of the endless possibilities life may hold."

Raven looked up at the stars thinking about what Starfire had just said. She was right. All her life Raven thought she was just a gateway to the end of the world. But look at her now. It's been months since Trigon had been defeated and here she was... Living her life. She had good friends and great home. The possibilities truly were endless. Just like the Stars above them.

She smiled and looked at Starfire who was still star gazing. "Thank you Star," Starfire looked back at Raven, "I really needed that."

Starfire smiled and gave her a another hug. Raven felt the urge to hug her back. A very rare feeling for her. She hesitated but soon after embraced the feeling and wrapped her arms around Starfire and squeezed in return. It felt like a huge weight lifted from her chest.

Raven had hope that things could change for her. That she could find love. After all... The sky was the limit.


	7. Unexpected Guests

**A/N: To anyone reading this thank you! I currently have 7 people following this story. And honestly I wasn't expecting anyone to be interested in this story at all. So thank you! If you've liked what you've read so far please favorite or follow for more. As always leave me a review and let me know how I can improve! Hope you like this chapter!**

The sound of the heart monitor filled the room. It had nearly been an hour since Cyborg and Robin spoke outside the recovery room. However the doctors had permitted them to sit in the room with Terra as they waited and hoped for her to awaken. They sat in silence at the foot of her bed. Neither had said a word to each other since they last spoke of Beastboy.

The doors to the room suddenly swung open in a rush. Robin and Cyborg's eyes darted to the door to see a panicked woman rush past them to Terra's side. She was slender with an average height and long brown hair past her shoulders, wearing skinny jeans and a pink v-cut tank top. She was crying from her emerald green eyes as she knelt next to Terra's bed squeezing her left hand.

Robin and Cyborg stood up and looked at each other with a massive look of confusion.

"Excuse me..." Robin said wearily, looking at the stranger, "who are you?"

The woman looked to the end of the bed where the two Titans now stood. She hadn't even noticed they were in the room. She looked at them and instantly recognized them.

"You're the Teen Titans right?" She said over her tears, "you're the ones who saved my little girl?" She threw herself at them wrapping her arms around both of them. "Thank you! Thankyouthankyouthankyou!" She spoke so fast it was almost hard to understand. She clearly loved Terra. The Titans were even more confused now. To their knowledge Terra didn't have parents. Or at least... she never spoke of them.

A man entered the room shortly after. He had just finished getting all the details from the doctor. He was tall with an athletic build and brown hair. He wore glasses over his brown eyes and a suit that made him look like a successful businessman.

"Forgive my wife," he said softly, "but I can't blame her. Thank you so much for saving our daughter. We owe you everything." He extended a handshake to both of them after his wife finally let go of the two and returned to Terra's side.

Robin shook the man's hand and turned to Cyborg as if he had lied to him. Cyborg looked back him like he knew exactly what Robin was thinking...

"Dude, no way. That's definitely Terra," Cyborg said with certainty pointing to where she laid.

"Oh! You know my daughter?" The man said as if it were expected.

"Well," Robin started looking to him from Cyborg, "we think we do," he looked at Terra, studied her for a moment, then looked back at the man, "she used to be part of our team."

Both the parents gasped. They looked at each other but were not surprised. Robin picked up on this and decided to ask some questions.

"So... you're both... her parents?" He asked subtlety probing for answers.

"Well yes... and no," the man said, "about six months ago my wife and I were out hiking a few miles outside of the city when we found her wandering around completely naked in the hot sun. She looked like she'd just woken up from a year of sleep," he looked down at Terra, "she said she couldn't remember anything. She said the first thing she remembered was waking up in a cave next to a plaque that had 'Terra' wirten on it, along with 'A Teen Titan, A True Friend' so what else were we supposed to do? We took her in and gave her a home," he paused for moment before continuing, "she really is an amazing girl." He walked over to where his wife was kneeling and put his hand on her shoulder.

Robin looked at Cyborg as if apologizing telepathically. There really was no doubt. This _was_ Terra.

The man sighed and turned back to the Titans, "I know you must think we are bad people for not bringing her to you," the man continued, "but we tried. We called Titans Tower for weeks. We even went so far as knocking on your door. But we never got an answer. The longer she stayed with us, the more we grew attached to her. She told us she didn't know any of you. She didn't even recognize the Tower. She had full amnesia," he looked out the window of the recovery room where doctors were discussing other patients, "the doctors told us to give her time. If we were lucky her memories might return. But after six months we've started to lose hope."

Robin had a look of disappointment on his face. He knew exactly why no one was at the Tower or answering calls.

"You did the right thing," he finally spoke, "and I personally apologize for our absence. We were gone for months fighting the Brotherhood of Evil. We spent so much time traveling the world trying to ensure everyone's safety that we missed the one person we should have been there for."

"Six months ago?" Cyborg said sparking with curiosity.

"Pardon?" The man respond looking at Cyborg.

"You said you found her six months ago?" Cyborg repeated speaking more direct. "Are you sure? It was exactly six months ago?"

"Um..." The man started thinking he was being interrogated.

"Cyborg," Robin interrupted, "what are you getting at?"

"I have to go," Cyborg said and he left without another word.

"Is... everything... ok?" The man said frightened.

"I'm not sure..." Robin replied honestly, watching Cyborg leave in a hurry. He turned back to the stranger, "but rest assured, we won't interfere with you and your family. I'm glad she has a new home with parents who love her."

The man sighed with relief. He didn't want anyone to think he had kidnapped the poor child.

Robin looked at all of them and it reminded him of someone that took him in when he was younger. Without that person, he wouldn't be where he is right now. He smiled at them but just before he was about to leave the man spoke again.

"I'm so sorry! My manners have escaped me with all the chaos," he sounded sincere, "my name is Carver. Carver Kane. This is my wife, Lindsey," Lindsey didn't look over to them but she nod her head to acknowledge her name. She wouldn't take her eyes off Terra, "It's a pleasure to meet the men who saved my daughter," Carver finished.

"The pleasure is all mine Mr. Kane," Robin replied with respect.

"Please," Carver said bowing his head slightly, "call me Carver."

"Call me Robin," Robin said, unsure what else he could have said. He took a moment and looked at Terra one last time, "we'll be checking in here and there to make sure she's ok. I hope you don't mind."

"Not at all! It would be great to have the Teen Titans looking after her," he sounded more like a fan at this point.

Robin smiled and turned to leave. On his way out he looked back and what he saw was different to him this time around. He looked back to see a small family trying to overcome a terrible accident. Even though they weren't related and had only been together for six months they were a close family. His heart broke for them. And he knew one thing for sure... He had his own family that also needed to recover from this accident.

He opened his communicator and called the others simultaneously, "Titans, regroup at the Tower."

He started to head towards the exit but felt a surge of sadness pluse through his heart. He paused for a moment and lowered his head. He raised his communicator once more and spoke softly,

"Beastboy... If you can hear me... Please... Come home."

Miles away from everything Beastboy was at a diner. The red neon sign on the building read "Ben's" which was sandwiched in between two golden yellow neon burger buns. Beastboy sat at the bar staring down at a plate of uneaten pie in front of him with his communicator sitting next to his plate.

_Beastboy... If you can hear me... Please... Come home._

After hearing Robin's voice Beastboy reached over to his communicator with his head held low, he closed his eyes, and silenced his communicator.


	8. Inner Battles

**A/N: So I've been reading the reviews that you guys have been leaving me and once again, thank you so much! I took some of them to heart and updated some of the chapters to get you all more detail and imagery. If you need more detail leave me another review and I'll see what I can do! Also if you have any questions or concerns but don't want to post them in a review feel free to PM me and I'll answer them as bast I can without giving any spoilers. As always... Please fav or follow if you like what you're reading! Hope you enjoy!**

The Titans had all followed Robin's command and regrouped at the tower. At least... All except one. It was late at night after the incident at the school and they were all wide awake. There was no way any of them were going to sleep with a member of the team missing. They needed to find him. And they wouldn't rest until they did.

In the living area the team gathered around Cyborg typing on the main computer. The giant screen in front of them presented a map of the city and surrounding areas spanning a 20 mile radius from Titan Tower. Cyborg was tracking Beastboy using the signal from his communicator.

"Got a lock," he said pointing to a flashing dot on the screen, "he's about 3 miles West of the city."

"We must go at once!" Yelled Starfire already floating towards the door.

"I'm with Star on this one," Cyborg said turning to face the rest of the team, "he needs us now more than ever."

"Beastboy is part of the team but he's more than that. He's part of our family and we'll be there for him no matter what the cost," Robin spoke like he had dealt with loss before and he was not about to lose someone else.

The rest of the team looked at Robin a little differently this time around. He sounded like a true leader. More than just their boss. He was someone they could depend on for anything.

"Let's move!" Robin said sharply running for the door with the team close on his heels.

The T-Ship soared threw the night sky moving as fast as Cyborg could control. Within minutes they were nearing the location of the red dot, blinking on the ships radar.

"He's close," Cyborg said nervously. He was hoping that Beastboy still had his communicator on him and that he didn't ditch it as way to remain hidden.

Inside the diner Beastboy could hear the T-Ship outside. The diner was nearly empty except for a pair of friends playing one last game of pool in the corner. It was 11:30PM and the diner was going to close in a half an hour.

He continued to stare down at his uneaten pie with his hands folded in his lap. He listened as the ships engines powered down to a stop. The doors to the ship opened with a hiss as the Titans jumped out, landing on the ground in a hurry. Beastboy prepared for the worst.

_"__Beastboy!" _He heard from outside. It was Robin. Beastboy closed his eyes. He knew what was coming.

The Titans rushed towards the diner hoping beyond hope to see their friend inside. They pushed the door open with such force that it swung so hard, it slammed against the wall. They all breathed easy as they saw their green friend sitting at the bar.

"Yo, BB!" Cyborg shouted with glee, happy to see him alive and well. He pushed past the others and moved quickly to where his best friend sat and stood behind him, "thank god you're-" Cyborg stopped short and looked at the reflection of Beastboys face in the mirror across from them. He saw Beastboy's head hung low holding face of defeat.

"Well?" Beastboy said somberly, "are you gonna arrest me?"

The Titans stood behind Cyborg frozen in their tracks. This wasn't the Beastboy they knew. They figured he'd be upset but this was completely unexpected.

"Well?" Beastboy spoke again, "ARE YOU?!" He turned towards them with anger. But it wasn't directed at them. The anger seemed to be aimed... more towards himself.

"Beastboy, it is us. Your friends." Starfire said softly.

"I know my friends," Beastboy said turning away from them, "they're good people. Dedicated to stopping bad guys..." He paused for a moment and sunk lower. Then he continued with a softer tone, "bad guys... like me."

"What are you saying?" Robin said apologetically, "we're here to bring you home. We've been worried about you."

Raven could feel the depression coming off of Beastboy. It broke her heart that he was in such devastating pain.

"Beastboy," Raven spoke up, "what happened, happened. There's nothing we can do about that. But that doesn't mean you're a bad person."

"Yeah, man," Cyborg add putting his hand on his best friend's shoulder, "you made a mistake. Everyone makes mistakes."

"You are not to blame for the things that happened," Starfire pitched in, "Mad Mod is the cause for all of this."

"Starfire's right," Robin said moving towards Beastboy's other shoulder. He got up close to Beastboy's side and knelt down to look up at Beastboy's face, "you did what you had to do," he said with confidence, "if anyone one of us had been in the position you were in we all would have done the same thing."

Beastboy looked down at Robin, he turned around in his chair, forcing Cyborgs hand off his shoulder, and looked to the others who all nodded in unison agreeing with Robin.

He looked back at Robin who was now standing next to him with a smile on his face trying to comfort Beastboy.

"But you _were_ there," Beastboy argued, "you all _could_ have made that decision," his ears dropped and guilt swarmed his face, "but you didn't. You held back to protect them," he looked back down at the uneaten pastry, "you all did the _right_ thing."

The rest of the team dropped their heads. They knew he was right. They had every opportunity to attack the hypnotised students in order to protect themselves or... in this case... Terra. But they didn't. Some of them felt ashamed that Beastboy was the only one who did and now he had to tackle this burden alone.

Even Robin was left speechless. He couldn't understand how Beastboy felt, because he has never done what Beastboy did. Robin looked around at the rest of the team looking for any ideas or help. None of them had any idea what to do now.

Raven turned around to see that the group of friends who were playing pool had finished their game and were leaving the diner. She knew she had to do something for Beastboy. He was always comforting her when she was hurt. Now it was her turn to return the kindness. And this was her chance to be alone with him.

"Can... Can you guys... give me a moment alone with Beastboy?" Raven was unsure how that sounded but she held her ground in front of her friends.

Robin gave her a quick nod and left the diner followed by Cyborg. Starfire was trailing behind them but turned to see Raven slowly approaching Beastboy. She was desperately hoping Raven could help somehow. Her eyes never left the pair of them as she backed away, exiting the diner with the door closing slowly in front of her. As Raven got closer to Beastboy she felt a wave of concern for both of them and turned to follow the others towards the ship.

Raven sat on the stool next to Beastboy's. She stared at her reflection in the mirror across the bar. She could see on her own face that she was nervous. For a moment she had no idea what to say and they sat quietly. She took a long deep breath and finally broke the silence between them.

"Look Beastboy," she started, "I know that Terra and I have never had the best... friendship. But you need to understand... I always thought she never deserved you."

Beastboy looked up at her angrily. Raven saw this and immediately tried to clarify.

"I just mean... You always went above and beyond for her. You did anything and everything to make her happy and you _still _are. And how did she repay you?" She saw Beastboy's anger slowly turning to sadness, "she broke your heart. Twice. She abandoned you, betrayed you and has been causing problems for us ever since we met her." Raven wasn't so sure if this was such a good idea anymore.

"Go on then," Beastboy said with a mixture of sadness and rage. He looked away from her, "say it."

Raven looked at Beastboy confused, "Say what?"

"I told you so," Beastboy said in a mocking manner.

"I wasn't gonna say that," Raven said turning away from him, "actually... I was going to say... I'm sorry."

He looked at her with an eyebrow raised, "for what?" Beastboy asked sharply. Now he was the confused one.

Raven stopped for a moment to think... Where does she even start? All the times she made fun of him? All the times he was there for her and she was never there for him? Or how about all the times she talked down on Terra knowing fully well how he felt about her?

Raven sighed, lowered her head, and closed her eyes.

"For everything, Beastboy." She sounded broken. Like she had literally stabbed him in the back. Terra wasn't the only one Beastboy had gone above and beyond for. Raven felt she was no better than her. Maybe even worse.

Beastboy's curiosity grew. He didn't know what she was talking about. But he remained silent and continued looking at her waiting for Raven to finish.

"I'm sorry about what happened to Terra," Raven continued, "she didn't deserve this. She may have betrayed us. She may have hurt all of us. You most of all. But I've done much worse than her," Raven started to show signs of sadness and guilt like Beastboy, "so... If any one doesn't deserve you... it's _me_."

Those words weighed on her. It crushed her. As much as she wanted to believe that she deserved someone as caring and thoughtful as Beastboy she knew she wasn't worthy of him. Raven felt her heart sink. She was starting to realize what she was feeling.

"I have done so many unforgivable things," she continued, "I'm so sorry I brought the end of the world on you. On all of our friends. I'm sorry that..." her voice started to tremble as she held tears back, "I'm sorry that... I haven't been a good friend to you. Even after all you do for me. Planning a surprise birthday party for me, comforting me when I'm sad, helping me even when I don't ask for it," she started to realize just how badly she had treated him. If anything... Terra had treated him better than Raven ever did, "I'm sorry I'm not..." She stopped short, hesitant to finish her sentence.

Beastboy's eyes were fixed on her. He was shocked as to what Raven was saying. He didn't think she felt this way about all of this. He could see a similar pain in her that he was feeling. This was a side of raven he'd never seen before. She was like a completely different person right now.

"You're sorry you're not... what?" Beastboy said with curiosity.

Raven panicked. She knew if she finished that sentence one of two things were to happen.

One, Beastboy would scream at her and never speak to her again. Or two, Beastboy would freak out... and still possibly never speak to her again.

"Raven?" Beastboy asked urging her to continue.

Raven took another deep breath and finally continued. "I'm sorry I'm not... more like Terra." She let her head hang low. As soon as the words left her mouth she immediately regret it. She was sure Beastboy would take that the wrong way. But to her surprise, he wasn't yelling at her. He didn't even seem upset. Instead he stared at her with with his usual caring eyes and spoke with kindness.

"Of course you're not like Terra," Beastboy respond calmly. He could see how difficult it was for Raven to confess this, "you're Raven. You're amazing in your own way."

Raven's eyes went wide and looked at Beastboy. He flashed her a tiny smile. But it didn't last long as he turned away from her and continued to stew in his pain.

Raven turned away from him and blushed. Her heart was pounding in her chest. She couldn't believe it. Even now, when he was at his lowest point, Beastboy was still trying to take care of her. She couldn't take it. The amount of compasion coming this person was overwhelimg. She fought back tears because now she knew. She knew exactly what she was feeling. It was love. She was in love with Beastboy.

After a moment Raven snapped out of it and reminded herself that this isn't about her. This is about Beastboy. She wiped the tears from her eyes and turned to him.

"Listen," she said, trying to get back on track, "all I'm trying to say is if I can end the world and Terra can nearly destroy our home and our friends, yet you can forgive both of us for these unspeakable, horrendous, unforgivable deeds," she reached for his cheek and turned his head so he was facing her. She looked deep into his eyes ensuring she got her message across, "then you can forgive yourself as well."

Beastboy's eyes started to fill with tears. He was on the verge of breaking down. His guilt was immense but he thought about what she said. He thought about how easy it was for him to get over the fact that Terra had broken his heart more than once and yet... he still loved her. He thought about how Raven had destroyed everything, despite the Titans fighting, begging, and pleading with her not to go through with it and yet... he forgave her instantly. But somehow... He couldn't get over the fact he had put innocent lives in jeapordy. No. There was more to it. He couldn't forgive himself for not saving Terra from Slade when he had the chance. For not being there when she needed him most.

"How?" Beastboy's words were beginning to crack and he raised his voice, "how?! How can forgive myself for what I've done?!" He shouted at himself. He lowered his head, closed his eyes, and clenched his jaw while he fought back tears even as they started to roll down his cheeks.

"You really wanna know what you _did_ Beastboy?" Raven asked sternly, "you saved someone you truly love from dying a terrible death," she turned in her chair and turned him in his, so their bodies were facing each other. She lifted his chin so his eyes would meet her gaze, "you saved her life Beastboy. She's alive because of you. You saved someone you love. Even when she never loved you back. That doesn't make you a bad person. If anything... That's what makes you a _true_ hero, Beastboy."

Raven still didn't understand that Beastboy was also referring to his failure to save Terra from Slade. But he didn't want to tell her. It hurt so much that he didn't even want to think about it.

But one thing Raven said stuck with him. _Even when she never loved you back. _The words stung like daggers in his chest. But he knew it was true. After everything he did to try to earn Terra's love, it was never reciprocated. And if she did, she didn't seem to have any problem with destroying the other parts of his life. His home. His friends. If you really love someone you wouldn't do that to them. Beastboy was beginning to realize this and he knew everything Raven was saying was true.

Terra broke his heart by abandoning him after giving him hope there was a chance, even though Terra knew deep down there wasn't. She just didn't feel the same way about him. It was a harsh truth he had no choice but to accept.

Beastboy couldn't take it anymore. He fell foward face first into Raven's bosom and broke down crying. He wrapped his arms around Raven tighly like a child clinging to his mother. He was sobbing relentlessly gasping for air in between sobs. Raven looked down at him with tears in her eyes as she wrapped her arms around him with care. She felt his pain. Her words to him stuck with her as well. She knew now she loved Beastboy. Truly and deeply. But she also knew...

He didn't love her back the same way.


	9. What Family is For

**A/N: ****Wow. Everyone reading, I can't tell you how much I appreciate your reviews. I must have read them all a dozen times and I love how deep they are and how much you guys are enjoying my writing. Thank you so much! I have so many ideas and your reviews keep adding more and more. Hopefully this series will go on for a long time and I can continue to satisfy you all! Ok... Enough mushy talk. I hope you like this chapter!**

Outside the diner, the rest of the team waited impatiently as they leaned against the side of the T-Ship. They didn't know what Raven was saying to Beastboy, all they could do was hope she could get through to him.

It was completely silent between the three of them. The air was filled with crickets chirping, hidden in the darkness around them.

After 20 minutes, the door of the diner finally opened. The whole team leapt to their feet and spun towards the door desperate to know what happened. Raven was exiting the diner. She had a look of absolute heartbreak on her face. She looked up to see the rest of her friends staring at her, begging for information.

Raven flashed a fake smile at them for a second and turned around to wait for Beastboy to follow her out. He had his head down with tears still on his face from earlier. He looked up to see Raven with her unconvincing smile and he returned the same smile to her. At this point that was all their faces could muster: A fake smile.

He walked past Raven up to his friends who were still silent but Raven lingered behind at the door. She needed some space from everyone to process the conversation she had just had with Beastboy... and the realization she had just found in herself.

The chirpping in the darkness went silent and the air grew cold as Beastboy stopped in front of them. Beastboy looked up at them still rich with sorrow. He wiped his tears away and the team gathered close around him, desperately waiting for him to speak.

"Guys..." he began, "I'm so... so sorry. I messed up. I messed up worse than I've ever messed up." Beastboy sounded as if he were saying a permanent fairwell, "I know I did. So... I decided..." His ears dropped and his head followed, "that I can't be a Titan anymore."

The team gasped. From the door where Raven was observing from distance, she felt a sting of panic. She was not expecting him to say anything like that. She flew over to where the others stood so she could see Beastboy's face. He was serious. He truly intended to leave the team.

"No." Raven said aggressively, "you're not going anywhere. You belong with us. You're a part of this team. You can't just walk away." She was almost angry in the way she spoke. Her heart was tearing to pieces. She had finally found someone she truly cared for with all her heart and he was just about to disappear forever?!

"Raven's right B," Cyborg said, "we wouldn't last 5 minutes without you."

"I can't risk hurting anyone else," Beastboy replied.

"Casualties happen Beastboy," Robin interjected, "in any fight. In any war. But that doesn't mean you stop fighting. For every person you might hurt there's a hundred more depending on you to save them. You can't quit on them." Robins voice was sincere and kind. Like he was talking to a little brother.

"Guys, I really appreciate what youre trying to do," Beastboy said softly, "but my mind is made up." He looked up at the team to ensure they knew he wasn't kidding.

"No," Starfire said covering her mouth, "Please, I beg you to reconsider. I can not bare to watch my friend leave us."

"She's not the only one," Raven add, "I-_WE_ all need you." She caught herself. She wanted to say more, but she couldn't. She was no longer alone with him and her friends could get the wrong idea... And so could Beastboy

"At least give it a couple days before you make a decision," Cyborg said trying to convince him to stay just a little longer, "come on man, don't just go running out on us because of _one_ bad day."

Beastboy thought long and hard about it while looking from one Titan to the next. The love for him was pouring out of them, warming the air that was cold just a minute ago. He felt less guilty and more disapointed. Disappointed in himself. He sighed and looked down for a second before looking back up at them.

"Ok. I'll stay for a few days," he brought his friends hope only for a moment before he shattered it once again, "it will give me some time to figure out where I'm gonna go. I promise, I won't be a burden anymore."

The Titans were heart broken. Was this really it? Did one incident really tear Beastboy apart this much?

"Beastboy," Robin said sternly, "you were NEVER a burden to us. More importantly, even if you were we'd still need you. You're not just a Teen Titan. You're family."

Beastboy looked up at Robin shocked. Robin had been their leader for a long time but Beastboy never heard him refer to any of the Titans as family before. It reminded him of the Doom Patrol. They practically raised him... but he felt more at home with the Titans than he ever did with the Doom Patrol.

"We're... Family?" Beastboy asked showing signs of hope.

"Of course we are, man," Cyborg respond full heartedly.

"We always have been," Robin said with confidence, "even if we didn't know it yet."

Raven blushed. She could feel the icy chill of depression in Beastboy's heart start to fade as the warmth of hope slowly took its place. She reached forward, wrapped her arms around him and closed her eyes.

"We are, Beastboy," Raven said passionatly, "we are."

The other Titans followed her lead and surrounded Beastboy with their arms.

Beastboy let a few tears roll down his face with a small but hopeful smile on his face. They all eased off him and smiled at him as if trying to show him they could get through this. Together. As a family. He looked at Raven. Her hands were still on Beastboy's shoulders with her arms stretched out in front of her.

"Ok," he said relieved, "let's go home."

They got in the T-Ship and started on their way home to Titans Tower. Beastboy no longer smiled as he stared out the window to the dark horizon. The silence on the ride home was haunting.

Raven had been keeping an eye on him the whole time. She knew his pain had something to do with Terra but she hoped she got through to him in some way. However, only time would tell if she really did.

When they arrived at the Tower they all got off the ship and smiled at Beastboy once more, happy to have him home.

"Thanks guys," Beastboy said, "for not giving up on me."

The Titans each gave Beastboy another hug one by one. With each hug they all made their way back to their rooms. It was late and they needed to rest.

Raven was the last one to hug him and she hugged him a lot tighter and longer than the others. When she let go of him the others were gone and they were alone together in hanger where the T-Ship was parked. She blushed once more, accepting the reality that she had found in her emotions.

"Come on," she said happy to have him back, "I'll walk you to you room."

"You don't have to do that," Beastboy said waving his hands in front of himself, "I'm fine. I appreciate the offer though!" He gave a slight laugh with gratitude.

Raven chuckled and grabbed him by the hand and started pulling him toward the door. She was going to walk with him whether he liked it or not.

"Just accept it," she said playfully.

Beastboy was propelled forward by the force Raven had exerted from pulling him. She was a lot stronger than he thought but now he had no choice.

They were walking down the hall side by side and Raven kept looking at Beastboy's face. He wasn't smiling anymore and looked like he was lost in his own thoughts. Raven could feel he was giving off a small feeling of dread. She still wondered what was wrong. She hoped that what she said to him at the diner wasn't the cause but she wouldn't know for sure until she asked him.

"Beastboy," Raven spoke, "are you sure you're ok?"

Beastboy looked over at Raven as if he barely heard her. He was deep in thought and had a lot on his mind.

"Huh? Oh! Yeah. I'm fine," he chuckled nervously raising his right hand to the back of his head.

"You know you're a bad liar right?" Raven shot back at him unconvinced, "you're always there for me. Let me be there for you."

They walked a few more steps in an awkward silence until they finally arrived at Beastboy's room.

"Well," Beastboy started, "thanks... for uh... walking me to my room?" He sounded like he wasn't sure what to think anymore. All this kindness coming from Raven was weird to him. He almost felt like there was something wrong with her.

"Beastboy," Raven sounded serious now, "talk to me. What's wrong?" Her voice turned to sympathy, "What's hurting you right now?"

Beastboy looked into Ravens eyes. He could see she knew. She knew he wasn't ok. He was feeling better... but was still far from ok.

"Its just something you said at the diner." Beastboy finally confessed.

Raven's heart stopped in its place. The last thing she wanted to do was contribute to his pain.

"You said that Terra never really loved me," he continued, "I hate to admit it and I'm having hard time believing it... but I'm starting to think you're right. But even if you're wrong... the fact is... she definitely doesn't love me now." Beastboy's face filled with pain again.

Raven didn't know what to say at first. This was the first time Beastboy had ever said anything like this about Terra. She thought for a second and then respond in a gentle tone.

"Even if she doesn't love you, that doesnt mean other people don't... Be thankful Beastboy. Your surrounded by people who _do_ love you. You don't have keep chasing a love you can't see." Raven fianlly felt like she was helping him. She wasn't scared. She wasn't unsure of what she was saying. She was speaking from her heart and letting her emotions do the rest. It felt freeing to her.

"Thanks Rae," he shot her a small smile, "l think you're right," Beastboy was still sad but the smile he gave Raven that was real and warm. The pain might still be intense but at least it was less than before. After a moment of silence Beastboy took a deep breath and spoke again, "I think it's time I let Terra go. It's for the best."

Raven felt the warmth from the smile he gave her and smiled back. She was happy to have him home and she was even more happy that she was getting closer to him. She felt satisfied and was content with leaving it at that and turned to walk to her room.

Beastboy was also turning to go into his room when he stopped and turned to ask Raven one last question before he went to sleep.

"Hey Raven?" he asked.

"Yes?" Raven said as she spun around to face him again.

"Why are you doing all this for me?" Beastboy was genuinely asking. This was unusual behavior for Raven and he's never seen her do anything like this for the others.

Raven's face went bright red. She wasn't expecting that question and she certainty didn't have an answer for it.

"I-I... uh..." Raven stuttered, "I-I just can't..." She stumbled over her words trying not to reveal too much. This feeling was still very new to her and she didn't know how to handle it, "I just cant... lose you."

Beastboy looked at her with one more smile. It felt good that someone cared about him the way she did right now. It gave him some much needed comfort.

"Don't worry Rae. I'm not going anywhere. Not yet at least." Beastboy sounded like he had finally started to let go of the past and move towards the future. They both knew it was going to be a long process but at least it was a start.

Beastboy turned and went into his room and the door shut behind him. He was exhausted and needed to sleep.

Raven saw Beastboy walk into his room where his journey towards healing had finally began. She was overjoyed to have helped him get to this point. But her smile turned to sadness as she watched the door close in front of her. She still felt uneasy as she still fully believed what she had said to him earlier at the diner.

She knew she didn't deserve him.


	10. Nightmares and Memories

**A/N: To anyone reading, I don't know if you might enjoy this chapter. But honestly... I think this chapter has been my favorite to write so far. So please leave me a review and let me know what you think! Your reviews make all the time I spend writing this so worth it! So thank you! Hope you enjoy!**

Terra still lay unconscious in her bed at the hospital. It had been about 16 hours since the incident at the school and sun was shinning through the window across the recovery room. She was in a deep sleep and found herself having a terrible dream that seemed all too real...

_"It's your life Terra. Your choice. It's never too late to change."_

Terra was looking down at Beastboy. She wore the armor she had seen in her previous dreams. The armor the reflection of herself had been wearing.

Her hand was glowing yellow and appeared to be controlling a rock the size of a person with a pointed edge staring Beastboy in the face, hovering just above him. She had tears in her eyes. She wanted nothing to do with what was happening.

All around her were faint voices she didn't recognize. Coming from people she couldn't quite see. They just seemed like figures of people. Like shadows. She couldn't quite understand them. But she could tell they were encouraging her to not go through with what she was doing.

_"I'm sorry Beastboy,"_ Terra said, _"For everything."_ She said the words involuntarily. Like they had already been said before.

She felt a surge of rage flow through her. Her eyes glowed yellow and with a loud war cry she turned and sent the rock hovering over Beastboy flying across the room at a different figure she also couldn't recognize. All she knew was this particular figure was the cause for all of this and she had to defeat it.

Her vision flashed and when she regained her sight she found herself face to face with the shadow she was fighting. It held her up by the collar of her armor with just one hand. Even face to face she couldn't recognize the it. All she could tell was it was the shape of a man. He was taller than her. Stronger than her. And he was evil.

She felt another rush of rage burn through her. Again her eyes glowed yellow and her aura turned yellow with them.

_"You can't control me anymore!"_ Again her words were involuntary. They just came out like they were already planned.

With a second war cry she created an explosion of rocks in every direction sending the figure flying off the cliff she just realized she was standing on.

Her vision flashed again and this time she found herself face to face with Beastboy as the cave around them rumbled and moaned, filling with lava from an under ground volcano. For some reason Beastboy was the only one that wasn't a dark figure like a shadow. She could see him clearly and he had a look of desperate concern in his eyes.

_"I have to stay,"_ the words flowed out of her again.

_"Terra no,"_ Beastboy respond timidly, _"you cant."_

_"I'm the only one who can stop it,"_ Terra respond. Somehow she knew exactly what this meant. She wasn't going to survive this.

Another flash.

She reached forward and pulled Beastboy in hugging him tightly as tears started to fall from her eyes, _"you were the best friend I ever had."_

Her vision flashed one last time and now she was surrounded by lava flowing in every direction. She felt a surge of emotion different from the rage she felt earlier. With her eyes closed and tears running down her face, her aura turned bright yellow. She let out a deafening final war cry and unleashed a massive amount of power with a flash of yellow light filled the room.

Then... silence. It was pitch black. But Terra finally felt at peace.

Suddenly a blinding flash of white light filled the darkness and Terra fell to her knees. The armor she wore had turned to stone and cracked and crumbled off of her as she fell. The bits and pieces went everywhere and she heard a few of them hit something metallic in front of her.

_Tink tink tink_.

She was breathing heavily. She looked around the darkness. The cave had barely any visability from daylight that snuck its way in through cracks from above. The room looked exactly how she left it except the lava that had been surrounding her was now solid rock.

She tried to stand but stumbled and fell forward down a single step in front of her and she hit the ground with a thud. As she fell she kicked pieces of her crumbled armor forward that stuck the metallic object once more.

_Tink tink tink._

She was weak and groggy. But she looked up from where she laid, trying to locate where that metallic sound was coming from. Through her blurred vision she saw a rectangular object in front of her. She sat up towards it to try to get a better look.

It was a metal plaque on the side of the step she had just fallen off of. She tried with all her strength to focus on it. Her vision finally started to clear and she could see words engraved on the metal plate.

_"Terra?"_ She read out loud to herself confused, _"A... Teen Titan... A True Friend."_

She was so confused. She had no idea where she was or how she got there. Only these few words on a metal plate to go on.

She looked down at herself to see she was completely naked. A shiver coursed through her as she wrapped her arms around herself. She began to realize she was freezing in the dark cold of the cave.

She winced in pain as she tried to stand. She stumbled once again but caught herself on a wall of the cave to keep her balance. Terra looked up to see this wall was part of a tunnel. The only tunnel in the cave. Seeing as how this was her only option she began to walk through the darkness.

After walking for what felt like ages she saw a light at the end of this nightmare of a cave. Hope shot through her as she made her way towards the light.

When she finally reached the end of the cave she was blinded by sun light. She raised a hand to shield her eyes from the light and began to worry. As her eyes adjusted to the light and began to focus, she found herself even more lost than she was before. Nothing looked familiar. The only thing she could see was the glare of sun light off the buildings of a city miles away. Feeling discouraged seeing how far it was, she still knew it was her best bet and started walking in the direction of the glared city.

The cold she felt had vanished. Now she was burning. It was a hot summer day and she was already weak and struggling to walk on her own. The sun beating down on her bare skin was only draining her even more.

After walking for hours, she looked ahead and saw two figures in the distance walking towards her. She couldn't tell if they were real or if she was just imagining them. But they started to rush towards her as if concerned and she started to worry. They were real. She could only hope they were friendly.

She stopped walking and struggled to stand as they finally appeared in front of her. It was a man and a woman both in very fit condition, dressed for a days hike. They both wore backpacks that had water bottles tucked into the side pockets.

_"Oh my goodness!"_ Lindsey shouted in shock, _"sweety, where are your clothes?!"_

_"Clothes?"_ Terra asked as if just waking from a dream.

_"Carver grab the picnic blanket so we can cover her up,"_ she said to her husband, _"and grab your water too. Poor thing looks like she's about to faint!"_

Just as Lindsey said that Terra collapsed into her arms. She could barely stand as it is.

_"Carver!"_ Lindsey yelled desperate for her husband's help as she could barley hold the stranger up.

Carver wrapped Terra in the blanket and sat her down. Terra looked up at them weakly with her eyes half open. He pulled out his water, held it to her mouth, and let the water trickle over her lips.

As if new life had been breathed into Terra her hand shot from the blanket and grabbed the bottle. She finished the entire thing in an instant. She gasped for air as she pulled the empty container from her lips and looked around with a little more strength.

_"Where am... What happ..."_ She had so many questions but still barely any strength to ask them.

_"It's ok,"_ Carver said,_ "we've got you. You're gonna be alright."_

Terra felt safe hearing those words. With that, she let go and her eyes shut as she fell in their arms.

Darkness again. It was quiet. Calm. Almost peaceful... Until a voice rang out from the emptiness.

_"Terra! You have to wake up!"_

Terra's eyes slightly opened to see the figure of a man standing over her with the sun light behind him.

"Beastboy?" She asked weakly.

The figure leaned over her with excitment and joy, "no, no, no. Sweety, it's me," her adopted father said in a soothing voice, "it's Carver."

He moved towards the end of her bed where his wife lay asleep in one of the chairs the Titans had been sitting in the night before and roused her awake.

"Honey!" He exclaimed, "She's awake!"

Lindsey, still half asleep, bolted out of her chair to Terra's side.

"Oh my baby!" She shouted with joy, "I'm so glad you're ok!" She had tears rolling down her cheeks.

Terra turned her head slightly towards her and looked at her adopted mother through blurry eyes.

"Huh?" She said still weak. She was so confused and her entire body started to ache.

"There was an accident at the school yesterday," Carver explained, "you're in the hospital."

Terra slowly started to realize where she was and what had happened. Bits and pieces of the incident at school started to flash through her mind. She let out a sigh of relief and closed her eyes.

_It was all a dream._ She thought to herself.

But even in her current condition she knew they were more than just dreams.

They were memories.


	11. Perception is Reality

**A/N: To those reading this, again I thank you! I know you guys are wondering what Cyborg was talking about when he stormed out of the hospital and don't worry, it's coming! Maybe not this chapter but very soon I promise! I will be going out of town this upcoming weekend (7/12/19 - 7/14/19) so if I don't upload anything don't panic. I'm really committed to this story and I really wanna keep writing it. If you guys really wanna keep reading it please drop a follow fav or review so I know! Hope you like this chapter!**

A new day shined on the Tower. Robin woke up, put on his sweat pants and hoody and went for his usual 6:00AM run through the city. All seemed normal until he ran past a newspaper stand that forced him to stop in his tracks. He picked up the paper with his eyes wide in panic.

The headline read: _Are we safe?_

To Robin's horror he saw his worst nightmare. The front page had an image of Beastboy in the form of a bull caught in the action of charging the students from the school.

He dropped the paper and threw himself into a dead sprint towards the Tower.

When he arrived at the Tower he found news-trucks and reporters camped outside. This was not good. He slowed down and started approaching them carefully.

"Is that Robin?!" A reporter yelled turning around to see Robin. All the other reporters also turned and immediately began rushing towards him. Robin was furious. This was the worst thing that could be happening while Beastboy was still at war with himself.

"Robin! Robin! What can you tell us about your teammate's attack on the kids?!" One reporter asked.

Robin continued to walk past them. Though cameras were flashing in his face every step of the way.

"Do you plan on turning him in to the authorities?!" Another asked.

"What is state of your team?! Do you still plan to fight crime?!" Said another.

"What do you have to say to the families of the kids who are in the hospital?!" another asked.

They were all asking questions so fast that Robin couldn't focus. He knew better than to entertain them. He ignored them and kept a serious look on his face until he finally got to the front door of the Tower. The reporters started desperately tossing questions at him rapid fire. They wanted something, _anything, _from him to make a story out of it. All the questions blurred together into an incoherent mess of words.

He placed his hand on the scanner at the door and it flew open with a woosh. He entered, and without turning around he pressed a button just inside the giant door that sent it flying shut as if slamming it in the reporter's faces.

He walked to his room, showered, changed into his uniform, and made his way back the living area where Cyborg was sitting on the couch flipping through channels on tv.

Each channel landed on the same news coverage each with the same headline as the paper.

_Are we safe?_

Cyborg saw Robin over his shoulder and looked back at the tv.

"It's on every channel," he said worried, "they all think BB's a crazed animal."

He continued flipping. But only found more of the same. A short 5 second video that had been altered to show _only _Beastboy plowing through a bunch of students.

"They don't even show what really happened!" Cyborg said raising his voice angrily.

"How did they even get this footage?" Robin asked frustrated, "we put Mad Mod in jail. Everything on him was confiscated. There's no way he could have released this to the public."

"I don't know man," Cyborg said still worried, "but if BB sees-"

Just as he said Beastboy's name the doors to the living area opened and Beastboy walked in.

"If I see what?" Beastboy said with a loud yawn. He clearly had just woken up and was rubbing his eyes with his right hand.

Cyborg quickly turned the tv off before he could focus on it. Robin and Cyborg looked at each other in a frenzy, trying to think of their next move.

"If-if-if-if BB sees... Uh..." He looked towards the kitchen, "that I didn't cook him an all you can eat tofu breakfast buffet... then... uh... then I failed him as his best friend!" Cyborg said not very convincing.

Beastboy looked at Cyborg with a puzzled look and an eyebrow raised. He was beyond confused.

"But you hate tofu..." He said back to him.

"Whhhaaaa?! Pfffft!" Cyborg exclaimed, trying to stall for a few seconds to sound more convincing, "maybe _old _Cyborg didn't like it but new improved Cyborg 2.0 _loves _It!" Cyborg said trying to make it sound more believable.

"We just wanted... to make you feel better after everything thats happened," Robin played along slightly chuckling to cover up his nervousness.

Cyborg and Robin dashed into the kitchen and started preparing a 5 course breakfast with all the tofu they could find in the fridge. Even though they had no idea how to cook tofu...

Beastboy was more confused now and he wanted answers. He started moving towards the couch to turn on the tv.

Robin saw this and his eyes went wide with worry. In an instant, he sprint over to the couch and snatched the remote from Beastboy's hand.

"Say!" He yelled putting the remote behind his back, "who wants to watch tv on a day like this? We should just jump in the T-Ship and fly somewhere out of town for a little get-away!" It was blatantly obvious that Robin was hiding something.

Beastboy looked at Robin as if he was absolutely insane.

"Ok... Now I _know_ somethings up," Beastboy said to the both of them.

Cyborg and Robin looked at each other like they were out of ideas. Before they could speak Starfire and Raven walked into the living room after hearing the whole thing. Raven held a paper she picked up after flying into town with Starfire for some morning tea and coffee. Starfire had a worried look on her face and saw the boys trying to hide the truth from Beastboy. She knew they had good intentions but she couldn't allow it to continue.

"Friends stop!" She yelled, "we can not hide from our troubles. We must face them together." She looked at Raven and nudged her with her elbow.

Raven sighed. She knew this was going to hurt Beastboy but he was going to find out sooner or later. And from her experience, she learned that sooner was _always _better than later. She elevated the paper with dark energy and let it float over to Beastboy.

"We can't lie to each other," She said in a serious tone, "especially now when we need to be able to trust each other with anything and everything."

Beastboy took the floating paper and opened it up. He read the headline and saw his picture. His pointed ears dropped.

"Oh," he said as his guilt rushed back to him, "I guess I was kidding myself if I thought this would just blow over."

Back at the hospital Terra was finally completely awake and the doctors were checking on her. They ran multiple tests to check for any serious brain damage. Terra was relieved when she heard the doctors tell her nothing seemed to be too serious. She just needed to keep her head bandages on and stay in bed for a few weeks before she could resume going to school. However, she would need a cast on her right arm for about three months and her ribs would have to heal on their own which could take even longer. Luckily, no surgery was necessary.

The doctor left the recovery room and asked to speak to her parents outside about at-home treatment options. Terra picked up the remote on the small table to the left of her bed and flipped on the tv to kill time.

Every channel was a news reel of a green bull along with a half metal man and a woman in a dark blue robe in the principals office of her school. They were standing in front of a doorway filled with students trying to force their way in. The angle of the video was in an elevated position right behind where the three individuals were. The camera was lined up with the door that looked out into the hallway. The video was playing over and over as the anchors discussed it. The video showed the angry green bull charging through a crowd of students just as they began to push through the doorway. The bull stood with a wide stance for a moment before the video looped back to the beginning and played again.

Terra looked at the video again and again focusing on what she thought she just imagined in the last loop of the video. She seemed to know exactly what she was looking for... She looked closer to see that she didn't imagine anything. She really did see a pair of feet lying on the ground right outside the door where tons of students could be seen bobbing up and down as they shifted back and forth across the doorway. It was clear they were stepping on something or rather... they were stepping on someone.

Terra looked away from the tv and thought back to the images of the accident that flashed through her mind after she woke up and realized where she was. The first was an image of the green boy with pointy ears who spoke to her once at school. She's come to realize, this is the same boy she has been seeing and hearing in her dreams. Thanks to those dreams she remembered his name. Beastboy.

_Terra! You have to wake up!_

Another imaged flashed and she remembered she felt like she was starting to fall backwards just before her eyes closed.

She gazed back up to the tv. She looked even closer to see the pair of feet sitting right below the green bull as it plowed through students. But this time she paid close attention to the widened stance it took at the end of the video before replaying. As it played over and over she noticed something. The bull was avoiding the feet on the gound completely, along with the body connected to it.

Terra gasped as she began to realize what had really happened. The feet on the ground were hers. The green bull was Beastboy. And he had saved her life.

Back at the Tower the team gathered around the tv and Robin turned it on to see the news playing the video of Beastboy while an anchor spoke over it. Beastboy's spirit was crushed. It was hard enough to live with the memory of doing this, but now he was re-living it from a different angle.

"So what do we do?" Cyborg said with concern.

"We need to find out who released this footage," Robin said, "who ever took this video clearly edit it to make Beastboy look bad."

Beastboy's ears perked up. Maybe there was hope for him. If they captured the guy who edit the video maybe they could clear his name.

"But who could've done it?" Cyborg asked, "the only person responsible is already in jail."

Robin already knew this. But it was their only lead and seemed like they were out of options. He looked at his team and spoke with intensity...

"Then maybe we should pay him a visit."


	12. Control and Power

**A/N: To all those reading this, thank you for stopping by! I got a review from a reader who brought up a really good point about last chapter about Red X. So I went back and updated the chapter to make it better fit Robins character. This is why your reviews are so important! Thank you so much for the help! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!**

The Titans all rose to their feet in the living area and waited for Robin to delegate objectives to the members. The tv was still on as it played the news reel over and over in the background. The team had gathered around Robin listening intently for the plan.

"Listen up team, Mad Mod is our only lead to find out whats going on. Raven, Starfire, and I will go to the prison and see what we can find out," Starfire and Raven both nod understanding their mission, "Cyborg, you and Beastboy stay here and see if you can use the video to find any kind of clues as to who filmed it." Robin sound like he was very clear on who he wanted at the Tower and who he wanted in the city.

Beastboy didn't like his task. The last thing he wanted to do was watch the video of himself on repeat.

"Uh... can't Cyborg handle that on his own?" Beastboy said trying to get out of it, "I'd much rather come with you guys and help with Mad Mod."

"Sorry Beastboy," Robin said with sympathy, "but with the way things are right now, it's better if you lay low here at the Tower until things calm down."

"It's cool B," Cyborg said trying to cheer him up, "while I search for answers you can catch up on some video games. Maybe if you get more practice I won't kick your butt so bad anymore," he said with a smirk.

Cyborg was trying to joke with him to lighten the mood. But he felt that it was almost cruel for Robin to ask Beastboy to watch the footage anymore than he already has.

Beastboy felt a wave of relief knowing that Cyborg wasn't going to make him do this. He nodded at his best friend and accepted Robins decision.

"Alright," Robin continued looking at the girls, "Star, Raven, lets go."

As they were headed to the door Raven looked back at Beastboy. She wanted to stay with him to help him through this. But she also felt a burning desire to get justice for him and Mod was their best chance at accomplishing that.

"Raven," Robin called back to her, "come on. We're leaving."

Raven turned towards Robin and flew over to the door where he and Starfire were waiting for her. Once they regrouped they started heading to the city.

At the prison Robin requested an interrogation room and an audience with Mad Mod. However, the Warden of the prison was hesitant after seeing the news himself. But seeing as how Beastboy wasn't with them he granted Robin's request and allowed them to speak with the prisoner.

The interrogation room was relatively small. But it was big enough to fit a little more than 10 people comfortably. It had an aluminium table bolted to the floor in the center with two chairs on opposite ends. Robin sat in one chair while Raven stood behind him to his right and Starfire to his left.

After waiting in silence for what felt like an hour, the guards finally brought Mod into the room. He had an orange jumpsuit on and wore handcuffs on his wrists and ankles that were joined together by a long chain that dangled in front of him. The guards sat him in the chair opposite from robin and connected the chain to a solid aluminum ring extending from the table.

The guards left and the door shut behind them.

"Elllllooooo my duckies!" Mod said as if he were expecting them, "now this is a jolly surprise." His face had a crooked smile that could crack glass.

"The footage," Robin replied not wasting any time, "how did you get it?"

"You mean that amazin' piece of film from my days as the principal?" He mocked, "even in this metal tin-can, we get some quality time watchin' the tele."

Robin started to get angry. Mod was hiding something and he was stalling.

"Save it Mod," Robin barked, "I don't care that you got what you wanted, you're going to tell me where the video is so I can show everyone what _really_ happened."

"What makes you think _I_ have it?" He replied playing dumb, "maybe some other chap with a camera also wanted to show the world what you snots really do when you're out misbehavin'."

Robin's face lit up. Mod just gave away something without even realizing it.

"So it _wasn't_ you," Robin declared. Raven and Starfire looked at each other puzzled. They didn't catch on like Robin did, "someone else wanted that footage and you were just the bait."

Mods face went from confident to angry. "Oi! I'm not bait for anyone or anything, you 'ear me? But I know it's about time you lot got what's comin to ya's. So there ain't nothin wrong with gettin a little help every now and again."

"Help?" Raven exclaimed, figuring out what they were getting at, "you're working with someone else?"

This really was a change for Mad Mod. He had always worked alone. Something about him was changing and it was changing for the worse.

Mod looked at Raven and his crooked smile returned.

"Well, well, well," he said with sarcasm, "ain't you the smart one? And I thought the pretty ones were never too bright..."

"Who are you working with?" Robin asked with force trying to intimidate the prisoner in front of him.

"Wouldn't you like you know, ya little runt!" Mod was holding all the cards. He knew that this single piece of information was the only reason the Titans were here talking to him and he wasn't about to give it up that easy.

"Please," Starfire said, "our friend is not well," anger stirred in her and she raised her voice, "we must know so we may fix the damage _you_ have caused him!" Starfire pointed at Mod as if declaring war.

Mod's smile only grew. Starfire had just confirmed that the Titans were beginning to fall apart as just Mod had planned.

"Damage _I_ caused?" He replied, "your little green friend is the whiney brat with the temper tantrum! He seems like a rabid mutt that should be put down if ya ask me!"

Raven had heard enough and her anger boiled in her veins. She wasn't about to let this pathetic excuse of a life form talk this way about someone she cared so much for, much less threaten his life.

She let out a cry of anger almost like a low growl from some dark monster. In an instant, her eyes glowed red with rage and the room instantly grew dark and cold. She started levitating and quickly moved towards Mod passing Robin as black flames grew around her.

_"You wanna see what TRUE rage looks like?!"_ Her voice sounded different. Like a demon was taking control of her actions and speaking over her voice. Her jaw was clenched and she bore her teeth like a wolf snarling at its prey.

Mod's blood ran cold. He'd never seen this girl's dark side before and it was the most horrifying thing he'd ever seen. His face showed unchallenged fear as his eyes locked on Raven, unblinking.

Robin shot from his chair. His momentum threw the chair across the room behind him and his eyes were wide with panic. He knew this could make things even worse for them.

"RAVEN!" He shouted desperately, putting a hand on her left shoulder before she could reach Mod.

Raven's head snapped towards Robin with her eyes still glowing red and teeth still bare. She stared at Robin like she barely knew him. She could see that he had his hand on his utility belt ready to draw a mystery weapon.

From the corner of her eye she saw Starfire hovering over Robin's shoulder. Her hands glowing green with star bolts. She was prepared for a fight but her expression showed that she really didn't want to and was pleading with Raven to stop.

Raven's face turned to remorse. Her glowing red eyes slowly faded and returned to normal as she regained control of her emotions. This was her first outburst since before she fought her father. The darkness in the room began to fade and Raven turned her back on Mod and hovered to her original position behind Robin's right shoulder. Without turning back around to face them, she stood still with her head down and eyes closed. She had disappointment painted all over her face.

Starfire no longer had her star bolts at the ready. She floated over to comfort Raven knowing what she was going through. Starfire had defend Robin in a similar way before but her emotions could never cause such a scene as the one she just witnessed.

"Raven..." She said softly, "are you-?"

"I'm sorry," Raven interrupt her. Her voice was filled with regret, "I don't know what came over me." She didn't sound very convincing. She knew exactly why this happened. But the fact that she lost control worried her.

Starfire looked back at Robin as if asking if they should continue the interrogation.

Robin met Starfire's eyes. He had relaxed as well taking his hand off his belt as he stood behind them. He was filled with concern but when he turned back to Mod he found that Mod was frozen stiff, eyes locked open, still holding the same unchallenged fear on his face. He looked like his soul had just been butchered alive.

Robin knew this wasn't going to be his proudest moment but he took advantage of the situation. He leaned over the table slamming his hands down on the table in front of them with a bang, getting really close to Mod's face. Mod jumped in horror cowering into his chair before the chains flexed against the solid ring they were bound to, stopping him from moving any further.

"You might want to pick your words more carefully," Robin said in a slow sinister voice, "I don't know if I'll be able to stop her next time," he sounded serious like he truly didn't know, "but if you tell me what I need to know I might be able to talk her into letting you off with a warning."

After hearing that, Mad Mod had no issues spilling his guts on the subject.

"I-I-I don't know the lads name!" He said frantically, "it was just some chap who always kept his hood up, coverin his mug and h-h-he planned the whole thing! He wanted to get video of you lot hurting the kids at the school to turn the city's trust against ya! I just had the tech necessary to make the whole plan work!" He was speaking so fast Robin was barely able to keep up.

"Where can I find him?" Robin asked sharply.

"I don't know! I swear!" Mod respond instantly, "he never shared any personal information. Fella's like a ghost! Just popped up outta nowhere! Never seen or heard of him before!"

"Give me a name!" Robin shouted.

"I don't know!" Mod was on the verge of balling from fear, "please! I swear! I don't know!"

Robin knew he was telling the truth. This had been a huge waste of time. The only thing they learned from this whole thing was Mod wasn't behind the attack after all. He was just a puppet. A decoy. He was just manipulated into doing the dirty work for someone else. But he also learned another thing... Something was wrong with Raven as well. Not just Beastboy.

And now... they were right back where they started.


	13. Distractions

**A/N: To anyone reading this, I'm trying to get as many chapters published as I can before I go out of town. Think of it as content to hold you over lol. Anyways thank you so much for your reviews! If you like what you're reading or have ideas/questions feel free to share! As always drop a follow or fav to give me some motivation to keep writing! Hope you like this chapter!**

While Robin and the girls were at the prison Beastboy and Cyborg remained at Titan's Tower. Cyborg was on his laptop at the dinner table across from the kitchen. He was agressively going over the footage that was making Beastboy look worse and worse by the minute. He considered every single possibility he could think of to find some kind of answer as to who was filming them. But there was nothing. No reflections. No possible suspects. Nothing. Cyborg was getting to the point of giving up. He could only hope that Robin and the others had better luck. The only thing that seemed to perk him up was seeing Beastboy distracted from all the madness while he played one of his favorite video games.

Across the room Beastboy sat on the couch with a Game Station controller in hand. He was really into the racing game that him, Robin, and Cyborg would always compete against each other in.

"Come on, come on..." Beastboy said, trying to encourage himself. He was nearly about to catch Cyborgs record for the fastest time on the track.

Cyborg smiled seeing his friend almost back to normal. Even if it was only for a moment. But something wasn't sitting right with him. Terra reappearing, the creature that attacked them, then Mad Mod at the school? All this couldn't just be coincidental. He looked back down at his computer and remembered what he was going to research after he left the hospital in a hurry.

He was typing on the computer looking up dates and times from six months ago. The time Terra was found by her new parents. Just as he thought, the events lined up. Around that time was when Trigon's reign that had been stopped by the Titans.

Shortly after Trigon was defeated Beastboy received the message from the Doom Patrol and the four month fight against the Brotherhood of Evil began. They've been home for two months after defeating the brain and for the most part everything has been quiet... Until just over a week ago when they ran into that strange creature and Beastboy had found Terra.

Everything seemed to line up. He started to get an idea of how Terra was brought back but he couldn't know for sure. Cyborg was getting lost in thought with all the theories starting to build in his mind.

"YEAHHH!" Beastboy screamed. Cyborg nearly jumped out of his circuits, "read it and weep, Cy!" Beastboy said proudly, turning around to face Cyborg with the screen behind him that read: _New High Score!_ "Beastboy is the new king of the road!" He was smiling and laughing doing a small victory dance.

Beastboy seemed to have forgotten all about the problems he was facing at the moment. He really needed some kind of positive distraction and winning in one of his favorite video games seemed to do the trick.

"Is that so?" Cyborg replied, taking that comment as a challenge, "not for long!" He left his computer to join Beastboy on the couch for a quick game.

He threw himself down on the couch next to Beastboy and picked up a second game station controller and the next race started loading.

_3... 2... 1... GO!!!_

Beastboy and Cyborg took off in their virtual world. As the race played on, they were both so focused on the game that the outside world faded away and nothing else mattered. One game lead to two. Two lead to three. The day started to disappear and after an endless amount of rematches declared by both of them. Eventually, they decided to settle the score with one last race.

It was a close race. They'd exchange moves that would place them in the lead before losing the lead to another move shortly after. They would laugh and shout and get excited throughout the entire race until finally the finish line approached. It was neck and neck but only one could win...

Just as they were about to cross the finish line the doors behind them opened as Robin and the girls had returned from their interrogation of Mad Mod. Robin stood at the door with an eyebrow raised looking down at Cyborg and Beastboy on the couch.

They both let out a small yelp of terror and jumped out of their seats knowing fully well they were supposed to be finding information on who was smearing the Titan name.

Cyborg looked at Robin with a guilty look on his face. He looked like a child who stole from his mothers cookie jar.

"Heeeeeyyyyy, Robin!" Cyborg said trying to play it off, "we were just... uh..."

Robin was about to speak angrily but then he saw Beastboy's face. He looked like he wasn't dying inside. Like the war in him had declared a short cease-fire.

"Well... I got the new highscore..." Beastboy chuckled nervously, raising a hand to the back of his head.

Robin saw how Beastboy's attitude had changed for the better. It made him relax a bit and he felt a little better about everything.

He looked down and shook his head with a smile. He understood that Cyborg needed a break from everything just as much as Beastboy did. And after everything that just happened at the prison... so did he.

"It's ok," Robin said cheerfully, "so who won?" Robin started walking towards the couch as if he wanted to play the winner.

Raven and Starfire looked at each other confused and started to follow Robin to the couch but stopped just behind it as Robin walked around to sit next to the boys.

With all the panic they didn't even see who won the race before the screen returned to the main menu.

"Uhhh..." Beastboy and Cyborg said together. They both looked at each other with the biggest look of surprise on their faces. They both had no idea who won. But what shocked them even more was the fact that Robin wasn't angry.

He was usually the over-obsessed detective who wouldn't rest until the bad guy was behind bars. But right now he seemed almost defeated and just wanted to relax. Seeing this... the boys could only assume the interrogation didn't go well.

"I call next game," Robin said smiling.

Starfire and Raven still stood behind the couch. Seeing Robin like this wasn't normal but they both understood. It had been a long day and there was no point in making it worse.

Starfire wanted to comfort Raven after her outburst at the prison but she didn't know what to do. Looking at the boys all on the couch discussing the winner and who was playing next, she figured she'd try asking Raven to do something she would enjoy.

"Raven... might you wish to meditate with me?" Starfire asked. It was the first thing that came to her mind.

"No thanks, Starfire," Raven respond in her usual grim tone.

She looked at Beastboy who seemed to be doing much better and grew a small smile. It didn't last though as she reminded herself of what just happened at the prison.

"I think... I just need some time alone to figure some things out." She looked up at Starfire and saw the hurt in her eyes, "thank you though," she said trying to ease Starfire's mind, "I appreciate you trying to help. But this is _my_ problem. I'll handle it."

Starfire looked at her with sad eyes and nod slowly, accepting Ravens decision to decline her help. Starfire floated over the couch to where the boys were sitting and sat next to them quietly as they settled on a decision for who played next.

Raven sighed and turned to start walking to her room. On her way, she walked past Cyborgs laptop that was still open on the kitchen table.

It had search engines open, filled with images and news articles on the day Trigon was defeated. She looked back at the others on the couch who had just started a new game then back down at the computer.

_Why was Cyborg looking at this? _She thought to herself. She turned from the computer and began walking to her room again. _Does it have anything to do with what's happening now?_ Her mind ran wild with questions as she continued to walk to her room.

When raven reached her room she lit some candles along with some incense and burned a clove of sage to purify the air around her. Breathing deeply and slowly, she sat in the middle of her room and levitated slightly off the ground and began meditating.

She had so many conflicting emotions and it forced her to ask herself some serious questions.

_"Is this really what love feels like? Is this what it does to you? Is it safe for me to feel it? How am I going to deal with it?"_

They were questions that needed to be answered. But they also stung a little as she asked them. On one hand, these new emotions made her feel amazing. It was a brand new feeling of euphoria whenever she looked at Beastboy. But on the other hand it was also heart breaking seeing as how these emotions weren't being reciprocated back to her. But what bothered her most was the possibility that her new found emotions could be causing her to lose control of other emotions that desperately needed to be kept in check. This was a dilemma that Raven was not looking forward to dealing with. She continued to meditate on these questions for hours into the night. However, she never found any answers for herself.

Ravens meditation was suddenly disrupted by subtle footsteps outside her door. She float to her door and cracked it open slightly to see Robin had just passed her room and took a left turn at the end of the hall that lead towards Cyborg's room. She didn't know why but something told her to follow him.

Robin was focused and back to business now. He was glad the team got to go back to normal, even if it was just for a few hours but he needed to talk to Cyborg about everything. Hopefully he had better luck with his research of the video than Robin did with interrogating Mod. Robin knocked on the door to Cyborg's room. Cyborg answered shortly after. He oped the door wide and invited Robin into his room. Robin followed him in as Cyborg returned to his desk where his computer was lighting up his dimly lit room.

After the door shut behind them, Raven appeared from a shadow of dark energy on the other side of the door so she could eavesdrop on the conversation.

"Did you find anything in the video?" Robin asked leaning against the wall of Cyborgs room.

"Nothing." Cyborg respond unhappily sitting at his desk, "there were no trace of anyone else at the school. Not even a reflection of the person holding the camera." Cyborg sound like he was exhausted from looking for answers.

"Then we're right back where we started," Robin respond disappointed. He then continued to fill Cyborg in on what happened at the prison, "Mad Mod wasn't behind the attack at the school. He was working with someone... Or more likely... Working _for _someone."

Cyborg took in the information and tried to process it, asking himself who else might be behind the attack. After a long moment of silence, no solid ideas came to mind. But then Cyborg remembered what he had also decided to look into earlier that day.

"There's something else..." Cyborg looked at Robin to make sure he had his attention. Robin looked back at him, waiting for him to continue, "I think I have an idea of how Terra came back."


	14. The War Within

**A/N: You guys are too awesome. I now have 15 people following this story. What?! I was happy just to have 1 or 2 but 15 was totally unexpected! Thank you! My last review corrected a spelling error i made that was pretty important to the story so I went back and fixed that as well! Thanks for that review! Even little things like that make a huge difference. I want to write this to be as best as it can be and with your reviews I think I can definitely make it happen! Thanks again! Please fav or follow if you like what you're reading and drop me a review for some feedback! Hope you like this chapter. This one was definitely my favorite to write so far!**

Raven was quietly sitting outside Cyborgs room. She felt bad for following Robin to see what he was going to learn from Cyborg about their current situation but she had to know. While sitting outside Cyborg's door listening closely, she was disappointed to learn that Cyborg hadn't found anything either. But just before she was going to leave Cyborg peaked her curiosity.

"I think I have an idea of how Terra came back." Cyborg spoke with seriousness. He was almost positive to the point he had no doubt in his theory, "remember what that guy at the hospital said about finding her?"

"Carver Kane?" Robin replied, "yeah. He said they found her wandering around miles outside the city."

"Six months ago," Cyborg clarified, "and what happened six months ago?"

"Well... We got back from fighting the Brotherhood of Evil about two months ago. And we fought them for about 4 months," Robin was trying to remember back, "I suppose... before that... we faced the end of the world."

"Exactly," Cyborg said confirming, "we had... what? Maybe two days after Raven took down Trigon before Beastboy got the call from the Doom Patrol? So we didnt have much time at home did we? So if she came back right after Trigon went down there's no way we would've known."

Cyborg turned to his computer and pulled up the files he looked up from the hospitals public records, "I also checked the hospital records. There was a girl checked in under the name Terra for three days around that time," he turned the screen towards Robin, "records show she was going through rehab for memory loss. Sound like our girl?"

"I guess..." Robin was trying to get Cyborg to get to the point, "But how do you know it was right after Raven defeated her father?"

"When Trigon first showed up what happened to the Earth?" Cyborg was trying to make sure Robin was following everything he said.

"What do you mean? It was swallowed in flames. Everything was gone." Robin respond.

"And do you remember what happened to all the people?" Cyborg asked.

"They were gone too... Turned to stone." Robin moved his hand to his chin trying to connect the dots of what Cyborg was presenting to him.

"When Raven beat her father... _Then_ what happened to them?" Cyborg was looking at Robin like the answer was right in front of his face.

Robins eyes went wide as the answer dawned on him. "It was Raven," he said under his breath, "_she_ brought Terra back," he looked at Cyborg for confirmation.

Raven gasped and her right hand shot to her face, covering her mouth to silence herself. Her legs felt weak and her knees nearly buckled. She thought about it and what they were saying made perfect sense. Her overwhelming power that day was 10 times stronger than her fathers. Even if Terra had turned to stone prior to Trigon's terror it was entirely possible her own power could have erased Terra's stone imprisonment.

Raven's eyes were wide in shock and she had a mixture of emotions coursing through her in waves. She was glad she could have been the reason Terra was no longer a statue forgotten in the darkness but that also meant... She was the cause for all of Beastboy's pain right now. She started breathing heavily into her hand. She put her other hand gently agaisnt Cyborg's door and slowly eased her way to her knees. She still didn't want to be discovered by the boys in Cyborg's room.

Cyborg relaxed knowing that Robin believed him, "It makes sense," Cyborg continued, "if Trigon could turn everyone to stone and Raven could change everyone back... Why wouldn't Terra be included?"

Robin racked his brain for a moment trying to poke a hole in Cyborg's theory. Any hole at all. But it all seemed too... perfect. Everything fit into place like a jigsaw puzzle. He was convinced.

After they sat in silence tying to take in the theroy of Terra's revival, Cyborg grew restless. He took a long look at Robin who was still thinking and broke the silence.

"Should we tell Raven?" Cyborg asked. He knew she didn't like Terra very much but he felt she deserved to know that she saved her.

"No," Robin replied quickly, "she's not doing well lately. This could make things worse."

Cyborg looked at Robin confused and concerned, "what happened?"

"Earlier today at the prison..." Robin started, "Raven caved into her anger when Mod said something about Beastboy. Starfire and I nearly had to fight her."

Cyborg looked at Robin with even more concern. Then looked down at the floor trying to remember the last time Raven had lost control. After a long moment nothing recent came to mind.

"Man..." Cyborg lift his hand to the back of his head, "its been a long time since Rae had a day like that," he started to think about how she has been acting lately. At the school. At the diner. Something was up and he wondered what it was. He lowered his hand and looked back at Robin, "you think it has something to so with Terra being back?"

"I don't think so," Robin replied with confidence not looking at Cyborg, "I actually think... It has something to do with Beastboy."

"Beastboy?" Cyborg asked confused, "what could BB have to do with Raven?"

"I'm not sure. But whatever it is... It's dangerous." Robin sounded serious as if the team was in jeopardy.

Raven couldn't listen anymore. She felt like she had been exposed. Plus the last thing Robin said struck her like a dagger to the chest. She just wanted to be alone and hide from the world. Dark energy filled the floor around her and she fell through her newly formed portal and disappeared. She reappeared out of the floor of her own room where she had been meditating earlier. She felt sick to her stomach. At this point... everyone knew her secret.

Everyone except Beastboy.

Cyborg and Robin were bending their minds over the entire situation. Raven, Beastboy, Terra, Mad Mod. All of it was too much for them to figure out. They sat in silence for so long thinking about the whole chain of events that Cyborg got so frustrated he just wanted to break the silence. With some anger he just blurted out the thing that was annoying him the most.

"Doesn't this whole thing seem weird to you?" He said to Robin aggressively.

"Which part? The whole thing is weird." Robin respond understanding Cyborg's frustration.

"That my point," he replied, "first, that thing attacked us, it led us to the school where BB found Terra, then Mad Mod attacks that _exact _school? Doesn't that... I don't know... Seem weird to you?" Cyborg sounded like his head was about to explode.

Robin thought about it and he couldn't argue. The whole thing seemed connected but why? How? Where is this whole thing headed and where did it come from? All he knew was this was something he desperately wanted to figure out as soon as possible.

"I don't know," he started heading for Cyborgs door, "but we should definitely look into it," as he left the room Cyborg could see the look of determination on Robins face. The same look he would get when he started to obsess over something they were facing. Cyborg was wondering if he should have said anything.

In Raven's room, Raven was collapsed on the floor. She was in denial of what she just heard but deep down she knew there was no other explanation. She wanted to cry but no matter how hard she tried to keep it in, it came pouring out of her.

_No. No, no, no, no, no, no._ She thought to herself. _Why her? Anyone but her._ _Beastboy is going to hate me when he finds out._

A soft knock at the door filled the empty space around her. Raven jumped at the sound even though it was just a gentle tap. Her head whipped around to the door.

"Raven? It's me," to her surprise, it was Beastboy. He was standing outside her room, "I just wanted to check on you. You kinda disappeared earlier when we all were playing video games. I mean... even Starfire was with us and she didn't even play," he chuckled.

Raven was filled with mixed emotions. _Why is he here? Why now? There couldn't have been a worse time_ _for him to show up._

"Raven?" Beastboy asked again starting to worry, "are you ok?"

"No." Raven said softly, barely louder than a whisper. She had no intention of telling him what she had been through today.

"Oh... Well... I'm here for you," Beastboy sounded genuine. Like he really cared. "I know I might not be the best guy to talk to... but I'm a good listener."

She was shocked that he could even hear her after how soft she spoke. It was too late to make an excuse now so she tried to end the conversation immediately, "go away, Beastboy," she said through her tears. The last thing she wanted was for Beastboy to see her like this. Especially after what she just heard from Robin.

"Raven..." Beastboy sounded hurt. He wasn't expecting her to say something like that.

"I'm sorry," Raven said apologetically, "but you can't be here right now."

Beastboy could hear her voice cracking over her tears. He started to worry even more and decided to push back.

"Well I'm here. And I'm going to stay until I know you're ok." He didn't have an ounce of aggression in his voice but he stood his ground and made himself clear.

Raven was at war with herself. How does she tell someone she had new found feelings for, that she can't talk to them? That being close to them is dangerous? She didn't want to hurt him anymore than she already has. She stood up and faced the door. She was so frustrated she didn't know what else to do except yell.

"What do you want from me?!" Raven sounded angry. She was tired of playing this emotional game with herself.

Beastboy sat there for a moment in silence thinking about that question. What _did_ he want from her?

"I just..." Beastboy took a second to figure out what he was going to say, "I just... want you to be happy."

"Well I can't be," Raven respond instantly showing her frustration, "I can't be happy because that would mean I have to put you all in danger," she looked away trying to fight back her emotions but they still found their way out as she looked back at the door Beastboy stood behind, "I can't be happy knowing that _I'm_ the reason we're in this whole mess! THAT IT'S _MY_ FAULT YOU'RE SUFFERING!" Her voice reached the point of screaming.

Her emotions started to boil over and everything in her room started to tremble as her powers started to break free from her control.

Beastboy had absolutely no idea what she was talking about but he could feel Raven's room shaking like a small earthquake and he didn't hesitate to take action. He threw the door open to see Raven standing in the middle of her room shaking in frustration with her aura glowing with dark energy. She was emitting incredible power that was taking control of her room. Papers from nearby books and bookshelves were spiraling around the room with Raven at the center of their vortex and her face held a look Beastboy had never seen before.

He's seen what Raven looks like when her anger takes over and she looked nothing like that. This was something completely different.

Beastboy ran over to her taking her in his arms. Raven stood there shaking. She was in pain. It wasn't her anger that had been set loose, it was her sadness. She couldn't contain it anymore. It came spilling out of her in the only way it could.

Beastboy squeezed her tighter ensuring her everything will be ok and she closed her eyes and put her head into the neck of his shoulder and cried as the vortex of papers danced around them. She cried harder than she's ever allowed herself to cry and when she did... she found her power started to fade away. The room slowly stopped shaking and the papers drifted to a halt around the the room. Her dark glow faded and she raised her arms and squeezed Beastboy back with all her strength, sobbing harder than she ever wanted to show. It was her turn to be held by Beastboy while she let out all her pain.

"It's not your fault," Beastboy said, "Terra was not your fault."

"You don't understand," Raven replied in between sobs, "yes it was."

"No it-"

"Yes!" Raven interrupted him raising her voice. But soon after she returned to her soft tone, "it was."

They both stood in silence as Beastboy held her tightly. He didn't know what she meant and his face turned to confusion.

"I..." Raven started struggling to finish her sentence, "I brought her back."

Beastboy released her and stepped back to look at Raven's face. He could see she was serious and she was telling the truth.

"All the pain you're going through right now is because of me." Raven held her head low. She couldn't allow herself to look Beastboy in the face anymore.

"H-How?" Beastboy stumbled over his question.

"Does it matter?" Raven's strength left her voice. "She's alive. She got hurt. And you're the one who's suffering," She paused trying to work up the strength to accept what she said next, "and its all because of me." She knew Beastboy was going to disown her for this and she knew her heart wasn't going to be able to take it.

Beastboy froze in his tracks. He was in disbelief. Terra was saved by the last person he expected to save her. She succeeded where he failed. She saved her when he couldn't.

"No," Beastboy finally replied, "it was _my_ fault we lost Terra in the first place."

Raven looked up to see he wasn't blaming her at all. He thought Raven hadn't done a single thing wrong. She waited quietly for Beastboy to continue.

"The night she helped Slade attack the Tower... I could have saved her. I could have stopped her from becoming what she was," Beastboy's guilt was intense. Raven could feel that it was just as bad as when they were at the diner, "if I had, none of this would have ever happened," he sunk lower as he finished his sentence, "but instead I turned my back on her... and she became a monster."

Raven's eyes widened. She understood why Beastboy was so hard on himself at the diner. He wasn't just talking about the kids he injured, he was talking about how he lost Terra to Slade when he could have saved her. She felt so stupid for not realizing this sooner. It was right in front of her the whole time. Beastboy wasn't just upsert or feeling guilty. He was at war with _all_ of his emotions...

Just like she was.


	15. In Times of Need

**A/N: To everyone reading this... Thank you! I got some reviews that had some pretty good questions and some confusion. Unfortunately I couldn't address them in my notes because it was just too much to explain so instead I left some of my own comments in the reviews to better explain everything. Future chapters will explain more on the emotional battles as well so hang in there! However a good point was made regarding the imagery so I fixed some phrasing in the previous chapter. Also I forgot to add an idea in the last chapter so please RE-READ to better understand this one! Hope you like it!** **Again thank you so much!**

The next day Terra was sitting up in her bed at the hospital. She couldn't stop thinking about what happened at the school. How Beastboy saved her. How the city thought he was a vicious animal. And how wrong they were. Even more... she couldn't stop thinking about her dreams. The carnival. The volcano. They all felt so real. She was beginning to believe that they were more than just dreams.

Her parents were sitting in the recovery room with her. Her adopted mother sat to her left reading a book while her adopted father sat on her right watching the news with his daughter.

The news no longer played the video of Beastboy but the video was still the only thing anyone could talk about.

_"This is serious," _one of the anchors on tv said, _"if the Titans can't hold back from hurting a bunch of kids at their school, what's to stop them from hurting the rest of us? Just because you're a 'hero' doesn't mean you get to do whatever you want."_

The debate continued on the the screen but Terra had stopped listening. She turned to her right to speak to Carver.

"Dad," Terra said softly, "you don't believe them do you?"

"Of course not hun," Carver said looking to Terra, "the Titans have always protected us. They stand in between us and evil men. Without them we wouldn't last a day." His voice sounded like he was trying to comfort a toddler.

"But if it weren't for that green one all these students wouldn't be in here right now," Lindsey spoke with detest, not even looking up from her book. After she saw the news, her outlook on the Titans instantly changed. She immediately regret thanking Robin and Cyborg with a long hug. She felt like she'd been tricked.

"Mom how could you say that?" Terra sounded heart broken, "he saved my life."

"You might not have needed saving if it weren't for him," her mother shot back, turning to the next page in her book.

Terra started to get angry. She explained everything to them earlier about how she remembered falling back into the crowd of students. About how Beastboy was the one who helped snap her out of it. About how the video showed him saving her from death. She was thankful for Beastboy but she couldn't deny that if he had just left her alone she probably wouldn't have ended up in the condition she is.

Still something about this fascinated her. Why did he snap her out of it? Why was he the only one she could see in her dreams? Why did he risk everything to get all the other students off her? As she continued to think about it, she got more angry with her mother.

"You don't know what you're talking about! He saved me!" Terra winced in pain immediately after she yelled at her mother and laid back against her bed to ease the pain.

She was starting to realize she wasn't just talking about the incident at the school something inside her was telling her he had done much more than just save her from that.

Terra's parents looked at her concerned with worry.

"Terra!" Her father shouted, "please, calm down..." His tone eased up and began to soothe her, "you're in no condition to get too worked up like this."

Her mother stared at her over her book with shock. Terra had never yelled at her before. She instantly knew there was something else going on here that was changing Terra... and she didn't like it.

Terra calmed down and looked to her mother, "I'm sorry mama," she said softly, "but I know he saved me," she paused for a long moment and closed her eyes, "he saved me."

Her mother watched her dose off to sleep and closed her book. She stood up and walked out of the room without another word. She walked down the hallway of the hospital and peered into each recovery room as she did. The nearest ten rooms had teens from Terra's school in them. One had a broken leg, another had a broken arm, some had cracked ribs and some had bad concussions. After seeing all this and what her daughter looked like and how she was behaving, she refused to believe that the Titans were good for anyone.

She stood in the window of the last recovery room when another woman approached and stood next to her. She was just about the same height but slightly thicker than Lindsey. She was wearing a business casual dress with blonde hair and blue eyes.

"Terrible isn't it?" She said to Lindsey, "what these kids had to go through." Lindsey didn't look at her but continued to listen, "if the Titans hadn't interfered none of this would have happened. That mad man was just using your children to get to them," she sounded intelligent like she knew what she was talking about, "if the Titans didn't exist this entire tragedy wouldn't have happened."

Lindsey turned to look at her. The woman also turned to Lindsey and their eyes met. The womans eyes were dull and lifeless. As if all emotion had been ripped out of her long ago. Leaving her bare and empty. Lindsey didn't trust her.

"Just because they messed up once doesn't mean they're the problem," she didn't like what Terra said to her but she did take what she said to heart. Perhaps she was saved by the Titans even if she didn't like them.

"You yourself said if it weren't for them your daughter and these students wouldn't be here," the woman argued, "and believe me... It's not the _first _time they've messed up," she looked back at the students in their hospital beds.

Lindsey looked away as well. _How did she know what I said?_ She thought to herself. _Was she just waiting outside Terra's room just to talk to me?_

She knew what she said to Terra and she truly did believe it. She fully heartedly believed Beastboy was the reason her daughter was in this place with the others. But she also knew the Titans have done a lot more good than harm. She looked back at the woman one more time.

"Who are you?" Lindsey sounded like she was slightly intimidated. But woman looked back at her and smiled.

"I'm part of an organization that helps people like you in your time of need," the woman continued, "the Titans should be held responsible for their actions. Good intentions don't pay the medical bills or property damages," she handed Lindsey a small card with her name and phone number on it, "if you have questions or want to talk... Call me," the strange woman put her hand on Lindsey's shoulder for a second then walked away.

The card read _Melissa Wallace, Attorney at Law _with a phone number underneath. She had been going room to room trying to convince the victim's families to file lawsuits against the Titans. She seemed to be relentless and would play her hand off the emotions of her audience.

Lindsey starred at the card for a long moment before looking back up at the teens that lay in pain. She tought once again about how Terra yelled at her. She felt a wave of anger and put the card in the back pocket of her skinny jeans.

Back at the Tower, Cyborg and Robin had long finished their conversation but Cyborg left Robin with something that he had also been wondering.

_Doesn't this whole thing seem weird to you__? _Robin was thinking about what Cyborg had told him. _First, that thing attacked us, it lead us to the school where BB found Terra, then Mad Mod attacks that exact school? Doesn't that... I don't know... Seem weird to you?_

Robin had thought about it before but ever since Cyborg said it out loud to him the previous evening, it was all he could think about.

Robin was in his study trying to figure out the connection behind the three issues they've faced in the past week. The creature, Mad Mod at the school, and Terra. Something didn't make sense to him. All three happened so close together and somehow led from one into the other. The creature attacked them. Led them to Terra's school. Then Terra's school got attacked. There is no way it was just a coincidence.

In front of him was a layout of a map with everything that happened. The location of where they first ran into the creature. Where the school was. Where they followed the creature after Beastboy had left the fight to talk to Terra. Nothing seemed to have any connections. It looked like it really was just a bunch of coincidences. But something about it seemed familiar to him. Like he had seen this kind of sequence of events before. He was searching the deepest pits of his memory trying to figure out what it was about this that seemed so familiar to him.

Robin snapped out of his deep thought when a knock on the door jolted through the room.

"Robin," Starfire said, "you are, ok?" She sounded worried, "you did not attend the practice of combat you wished us all to perform."

Robin had always been the first one at combat practice. As the leader, he determined what time it took place, when to be there, and what course they were going to do. So missing combat practice was a shock and left Starfire concerned.

Robin looked at his clock and saw it was already 9:00AM. Combat practice usually took place at 8:00AM. He hadn't even noticed he stayed up through the entire night after he left Cyborg's room.

He turned from the map and went to the door. When he opened it, he saw the entire team standing outside with worry. They could see Robin hadn't slept yet.

"Dude," Beastboy said slowly, "you look..."

"Awful," Raven finished for him.

"Yeah, man," Cyborg said standing behind them, "didn't you sleep last night?"

Robin saw the worry on their faces and decided to be honest.

"No. I didn't," he looked from teammate to teammate with no excuse as to why he missed combat practice but instead came clean, "I've been trying to figure out what's going on. You're right Cyborg. Something about this whole thing isn't right," he looked over his shoulder back at the map as if still searching his mind for the answer, "I could've sworn I've seen something like this before somewhere, but I can't figure out where,"

"Perhaps, you may come to find the answer after you had, the sleep?" Starfire said with hope that Robin could bounce back. She didn't want to see him become overly obsessed nearly killing himself over his work again.

"Star's right," Cyborg added, "sometimes the answer isn't there because your head ain't thinkin straight," he sounded like a leader. Like when he had his own team at Titans East, "get some rest. We'll take it from here."

The rest of the team nodded and Robin had no choice but to agree. "Alright. But if anything comes up-"

"Yeah, yeah. We'll call you," Beastboy said as if he's heard this a million times, "dude, go get some rest. We got this."

Robin nod to them and walked past them towards his room. He was still deep in thought but his team was right. He needed to sleep. He knew that if he didn't he'd never figure out the missing connection in the case.

The rest of the team started to make their way to the living area for breakfast but as Cyborg walked past Robin's study he peered in at the wall with a map and all the locations of the previous events. It looked like a jumbled mess with nothing in common with the next. After going over it a dozen times, with nothing coming to mind, Cyborg sighed. He felt he may have made a mistake telling Robin his concerns the night prior.

Beastboy, Raven, and Starfire entered the living area. Beastboy walked over to the kitchen to cook his usual tofu bacon and eggs. But Raven stopped Starfire at the door to talk privately for a moment.

"Starfire," she began, "I need your help with something."

This took Statfire by surprise. Raven Never asked for help... Ever. Starfire's eyes lit up with joy seeing Raven come to her in confidence.

"Oh yes!" Starfire exclaimed happy to help with anything she could, "I would be most honored to help my friend in need!"

Raven panicked for a second and covered Starfire's mouth to try to keep her voice down. She didn't want anyone to worry any more than they already were with everything else going. She looked at Beastboy who didn't seem to notice as he continied to cook his breakfast. She breathed easy and lowered her hand before continuing.

"You've spent some time with my powers," Raven was referring to the time the Puppet King had switched their bodies, "you know better than anyone they are unstable and highly dangerous."

Starfire nod her head wondering where this was going.

"So how did you figure out how to use my powers so quickly?" Raven didn't want to sound rude but Starfire is a loose canon when it came to her emotions. She never surpressed any of her emotions. They just poured out like a never ending fountain. But when Raven tried to use Starfire's power she almost never figured out how to use them. It took her much longer to learn how to fly let alone use Starfire's real power even though they were also connected to emotion.

"Well..." Starfire was trying to think back to the time they switched bodies and how she used Raven's powers, "I simply did as you instructed."

"But you use emotion to fuel your powers," Raven argued, "how did you keep them in control when you used mine?"

"Oh... Um... I suppose... I did not?" Starfire was a bit confused by the question. She didn't quite understand what she meant. She thought she was a wrecking ball with Raven's powers. But when she thought about it... She found herself doing most of the work to save the boys. Raven didn't come close to learning how to use Statfire's powers until her emotions forced their way out only after seeing her friends in mortal danger. The quickest thing she learned was how to fly but even that was difficult for her.

Raven sighed. She didn't think this was going to work anymore. But she figured it was still worth a try anyways.

"Can you... um... teach me?" Raven sounded almost embarrassed to ask.

"What is it that you are hoping to learn?" Starfire asked still wondering where this was going.

Raven looked at Beastboy. Last night when he held her as she was on the brink of destroying her room. She let all her pain pour out of her on to his shoulder, and she noticed her destructive force faded away. She was so close to destroying her room but she didn't, even though her emotions were being released more than she had ever allowed. She looked back at Starfire who had followed her gaze over towards Beastboy. Starfire looked back at Raven with a little more understanding. Once their eyes met Raven spoke up...

"I think... I might have found another way to control my powers."


	16. The Power of Emotion

**A/N: To all of those reading this thank you so much! I will be gone for the weekend so I hope this holds you over until I return. Don't worry... I plan on seeing this through to the end! Like I said in my comment in the review section, Raven's dilemma would be explained and here it is! I hope this clears up any confusion and I really hope you guys like it! As always please drop a fav or follow if you like what you're reading. Reviews are always appreciated and I read them all and consider them entirely. Thanks so much once more!**

The sun was shinning high over Titans Tower. Clouds in the distance showed chance of a storm but Raven and Starfire were on the roof trying to figure out Raven's new idea to control her powers. Starfire was still unsure how she could even help but for one of her best friends she was willing to give it her best shot.

They both hovered above the roof with their legs crossed beneath them. They faced each other a little less than 6 feet away.

"How do you wish to proceed?" Starfire asked.

"Well... How do _you_ do it?" Raven replied, "what do you do when you feel your emotions as you're using your powers?"

Starfire looked up at the sky trying to think. She's never thought of that before. In the heat of battle she always just let everything come and go as they pleased. She looked back at Raven and tried to make sense of it.

"When I am in battle, I do not fight my emotions. I suppose I allow them to make me stronger." Starfire didn't know how else to explain it.

"My emotions control my powers," Raven said looking down at the floor, "if I were to let them make me stronger I don't know if I could contain it."

"I do not think that is true," Starfire said gently, "you have used your emotions to become stronger before."

Raven thought about that for a moment. She thought back to when she fought Trigon. When she was at her most powerful. She was angry but it was more than that. She was also fighting to protect people she cared about. Fighting for something she loved. At that moment she didn't hold anything back. She released everything she was feeling and her power not only stopped the embodiment of evil, but restored life to the world.

"Perhaps, you believe you lose control because of your emotions, but truly, you lose control because you fight them," Starfire was applying her own experiences to see if she could make sense of Raven's questions, "when we were stranded on that strange planet, after the monster of loud screams attacked us, I lost control of my powers. But it was not because I fought them but because I could no longer feel them," Starfire's voice turned to sadness as she looked down and closed her eyes, "when Robin said I was not his friend who was a girl it truly damaged me. The damage was so painful I could no longer feel what I had felt before," she looked back at Raven trying to clarify, "I was so confused of how I felt that my powers refused to obey my commands."

Raven looked at Starfire in disbelief. She had no idea all that happened. She remembers the day Starfire is talking about but she just remembers it as an awkward misunderstanding.

"I... had no idea," Raven said sympathetically, "that must've been so hard for you," Raven was starting to feel she had more in common with Starfire than she initially thought.

"It was very hard," Starfire replied accepting the sympathy, "but when Robin helped me to understand, I was no longer confused and my powers returned to me."

Raven filled with discomfort. The only one who could help her understand her emotions was her. But even _she_ didn't understand them. After all, she's spent her entire life suppressing them thinking it was for the best.

"Yeah... I don't think I have that kind of option," Raven said in her common dark tone.

"Oh I think you do!" Starfire said trying to cheerfully convince her friend, "you must embrace your feelings and trust they will guide you!"

Raven sighed. She knew this could go horribly wrong but she asked for Statfire's help on this because she knew Starfire was the only who could possibly understand her.

"Ok..." Raven said unconvinced. She figured it was best to at least give it a chance, "but how do I do that?"

"What I do is picture what drives the emotion I need to defeat what ever I am facing," Starfire was speaking confidently. She really did know what she was talking about but this applied to her own powers. She didn't know if they'd work for Raven, "if I need use of Starbolts, I picture what makes me most angry. I used to picture the Gordanians for my anger," she paused and her face grew sad as she thought of someone even worse, "but now I picture my sister, Blackfire."

Raven thought back to when she first met Starfire. She was held captive by an alien fleet known as the Gordanians. She was their slave. _A prize_ Raven remembered Starfire saying. To have someone that could hurt you more than someone who enslaved you is nearly impossible. But Blackfire could definitely fit that role. She was ruthless and evil to Starfire. Treated her less than garbage. Less than a slave. And she was supposed to be family. Someone you could depend on for anything. Raven understood this all too well.

"So I suppose you should try picturing whatever you must to ensure your emotion grants you victory," Starfire looked at Raven with a small smile.

"What if I just want my emotions to let me control my power?" Raven asked trying to apply Starfire's advice to her own powers.

Starfire giggled as if the answer was obvious, "our powers are connected to our emotion, yes? So it is not control we must seek. We must work with them in harmony. No one can truly choose the emotion which they feel. So no one can truly control them."

Raven's eyes widened. It felt like lightning stuck her. It all made sense to her now. Anytime she ever felt anything, she never _chose_ to feel it. Something or someone always influenced her emotions. Fighting them is how she lost control so many times.

She thought back to the first time they fought control freak. After they defeated him at the video store, Beastboy rented a terrifying movie that horrified her. But she refused to accept that she was really afraid. She fought her emotion of fear and in doing so her powers vanished from her control and eluded her. Her powers escaped in the form of horrifying monsters that nearly destroyed the entire team. It was only when she accepted her fear and used it as her strength that she regained control of her powers and saved her friends.

It finally clicked in Raven's mind. It was like she was trying to swim up stream. Fighting nature at its roots. Nature would win everytime. Raven lifted her head upright and positioned her hands in their usual meditation pose. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Ok. I'll try," Raven spoke with hope but she was still filled with worry that this might not work.

_Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos_...

She dove deep into meditation while Starfire observed. She searched her mind for the emotions she had been feeling. She pictured what she cared about most. Starfire, Cyborg, Robin... Beastboy.

Her emotions started cousring through her and her power spiked with energy as a whirlwind started forming around her. She could feel her power wanting to be unleashed as images of her green friend flashed through her mind. The way he proected her, comfort her, he was always trying to make her laugh and smile. She felt happy. Like she had always wanted him to do those things for her. But she would usualy supress these emotions and clear her mind so her powers would be contained, giving her control. But this was no longer working due to her emotions growing stronger each day. They were beginning to overpower her mind. She knew for certain that she needed a new way to control her powers.

Starfire gasped as she watched her friend emmitt an enormous amount of power. She was frightened just by the sheer force of Raven's power without her even trying but she trusted Raven to get through this. To find control and balance.

The next image appeared in Raven's mind. It was Terra. Images flashed before her eyes from her memory of Terra's betrayal, redemption, resurrection... and her lifeless body on the floor of the school. She felt angry. Angry that she had trusted her before and guilty that she brought her back only to get seriously injured.

Raven's power grew more intense and the whirlwind around her grew stronger as dark energy started to glow with her aura. Things were getting dangerous.

The next image she saw was unexpected and hard for Raven to handle. She didn't intend to think of this but the thought came to her without her consent. Images of Terra and Beastboy. When Beastboy was trying so hard to win Terra's heart. The memories appeared in waves. Them laughing, Beastboy protecting her, defending her, and losing control of himself because of her. Almost the same way Raven loses control. She felt jealous. Jealous that Terra had the love of someone she loved now and angry that he had his heart broken by her more than once.

Her emotions began buring like a fire in her. She didn't want to see these images. She tried to cast them aside. To bury them. Avoid them as she had in past. But her emotions were growing so strong she couldn't block them out. She couldn't bury them anymore.

The whirlwind around her had turned into a hurricane. Debris and small objects began spiraling around her at incredible speed. She could feel herself losing control as she tried to suppress the images that were making her so uncomfortable with the mixture of emotions.

She was still trying to control her emotions too much and at this point she couldn't stop and clear her mind. They had taken over completely. She was about to lose all hope when she heard Starfire's faint voice encouraging her over the force of her power.

"You must let go of control!" she shouted over the force of the hurricane surrounding Raven. Starfire had her arms raised forming an X over her face to protect herself from the small flying objects being tossed around by the force of Raven's power. She had her left eye closed but continued to keep her right eye slightly open, fixed on her friend from behind her arms that protected her face, "your emotions must guide you!" She could see Raven was starting to struggle and felt she needed to help.

Raven was lost in her own mind. _Guide me? How do I let them guide me? They're too strong. They control too much of my power._

Black bolts of lightning started discharging from the dark energy that surrounded her pushing through the the hurricane like a needle through cloth.

She couldn't seem let her emotions go. She couldn't embrace them. After a lifetime spent trying to bury any and all emotion in order to contain the power she had, it was just too difficult for her to change everything in just a few hours.

"Star...fire..." Raven struggled to say while clenching her jaw trying to keep her powers from running wild, "Run! ... I... can't... control it..."

"You must embrace what you feel! Whatever you are feeling let yourself feel it!" Starfire shouted, "let go Raven!"

It was clear to Raven, Starfire wasn't leaving. She knew she was resilient but when Raven loses control, something much more powerful is unleashed and even Starfire could get seriously hurt. In a last minute attempt to protect her friend, Raven took a leap of faith with Starfire's advice. She let everything go and let her emotions flood her mind and soul. She raised her head to the sky and let out an earth shattering scream. Her eyes flashed white and glowed as bright at the sun.

What seemed like an impossible amount of power was unleashed in a terrifying blast of dark energy. The dark shape of a bird explode out of Raven into the air, nearly doubling the size of the Tower. It rose high and stretched its wings to its limit, filling the sky with darkness. The massive bird let out a long and loud screech that sounded like it was in pain. Like it was suffering. When the cry of pain finally faded its wings closed into its body and the bird performed a flawless nose dive back to its origin. Back to Raven.

Silence...

The sounds of the waves landing on the island of Titans Tower was all that could be heard. It was peaceful. Raven felt peaceful.

"Raven?" Starfire asked calmly, "you are, ok?"

Raven opened her eyes from her meditation to see her red haired friend just a foot away from her. Her face was filled with concern. Raven looked around expecting the worst... but everything was exactly as it was when she first entered her meditation. Her hands still remained in their usual pose as she levitated above the Tower. She looked back at Starfire who now had a huge smile on her face with tears in her eyes.

Raven felt a cool breeze on her face. Much cooler than normal. She removed a hand from its pose and raised it to her face. Surprise struck her when she found tears running down her cheeks. She didn't remember crying. She looked at her hand to see if she was just imagining it but no... The tears were there. On her fingertips.

She looked back at Starfire and before she could react Starfire wrapped her arms around her, nearly crushing her. She started twirling Raven around in circles almost creating a hurricane of her own.

"Raven!!!" She exclaimed, "You have done it!" She was laughing with excitment for her friend. Raven allowed herself be be swarmed by her friend's feeling of pride and joy. When Starfire finally let go she looked at Raven like a brand new person.

"Yeah," Raven giggled for a second before turning away from Starfire. Her smile slowly disappeared, "I guess I did." Raven was happy she found herself a new way to take control. But what she just felt wasn't necessarily a good feeling. It was painful. Letting herself feel for the first time in her life meant she didn't have a way of coping with her emotions. A way to deal with all the joy, sadness and pain that each emotion comes with. It was as if she was feeling everything all at once for the first time. And the first time feeling everything meant it was extremely overwhelming as if her emotions were 10 times stronger than normal. Raven began to think that not feeling anything would be better than what she felt now. She wanted to bury all her feelings away... Again.

Far away somewhere unknown, a dark figure sat in a massive room with a single light barely illuminating the area around him. He wore a cloak that covered him head to toe with a hood that covered his face. Just visible in the light were old machines used for mass production of manufacturing goods. The machines were all in line like a factory.

The sound of high heels clicked and clacked on the concrete floor as a woman approached him walking past the machines. When she ended up in front of him she stopped and began to give a report.

"The people of the city are all starting to believe the Titans are no longer trustworthy," she wore a business cusual dress and her blonde hair flowed with a gentle breeze coming from a few broken windows of the facotry. It was Melissa and she spoke with a devious tone, "I can begin to organize an offical protest whenever you're ready."

The hidden figure looked up from under his hood but it cast a dark shadow concealing his face.

"Excellent work my dear," he said with content, "but let's give it more time to breathe. We want as many as possible against the Titans. However, it might be time to start working on phase two." He pulled a remote from under his cloak l with his right hand and pressed the only button it held.

The sound of a power suge roared as all the machines around them came to life with the gears inside them spinning ferociously.

With his left hand, he pulled out a mechanical device from under his cloak as his right hand return to the darkness of his body. His hands were covered by gloves and his arms wore long sleeves. In his left hand he held what looked like a face. Where eyes should glow red they were black. It looked exactly like the face the Titans had beaten. The face of the mechanical creature.

"We wouldn't want to keep our friends from getting a second chance now would we?"


	17. Questions

**A/N: Hey everyone! Sorry it took me so long to get this chapter out to you. Life has been delaying my writing but I finally got around to it! Again thank you so much for the reviews. I can't tell you how much it means to me that someone enjoys my writing enough to leave me a positive comment. Your reviews give me so much motivation to keep writing! If you're new please drop a fav or follow and let me know how I can improve. I hope you guys like this chapter! Thanks again!**

Storm clouds fill the sky as rain poured down on Jump City. It's been almost two weeks since the attack on the school and Terra is finally back at home with her family. She was laying in bed in her pajamas on. They were fuzzy with pictures of teddy bears all over them. Her right arm was still covered in a cast connected to a sling that wrapped around the back of her neck.

She knows she was told to stay in bed and recover but something was bugging her. She couldn't get the image of the plaque she woke up next to out of her mind. The words rang out like bells in her head. She had seen the Teen Titans first hand. She didn't recognize any of them. Except one. But her memory of him was all but non-existance except for a few blurred images and his voice saying a few words.

Terra woke up from her day dream as a knock on her door made her jump with a gasp.

"Sweetie?" Her mother said after opening the door to see her daughter sitting up in bed, "why are you still awake? Its almost 10:00PM and you have your first day back at school tomorrow."

"Sorry mama," Terra replied, "I just can't sleep. There's a lot on my mind."

"Well," her mother started as she entered her room, "since were both awake, we can talk about it," she gently sat at the foot of Terra's bed with a smile on her face trying to encourage her little girl to open up to her.

"It's just..." Terra didn't want to sound crazy but a lot has happened so she figured she might as well talk it out, "ever since the accident at school my dreams have felt like... well... more than just dreams."

Her mother raised an eyebrow wondering what she meant.

"Like... they mean something," Terra continued, "I think... they might be memories... of my past?" Terra sounded like she was asking her mother if that sounded too crazy.

"Oh honey," her mother said calmly, "why didn't you say something earlier? What are your dreams about?"

"Well I didn't want to worry you or dad any more than you already are," Terra said with some guilt in her voice.

"No," Lindsey respond immediately, "we will always put you first, darling. We are your parents. We want what's best for you," Lindsey raised her hand and took Terra's cheek in her palm. She loved her. She wanted her to get her memories back and she wants to help however she can, "now..." She took her hand back, "tell me about your dreams."

Terra felt the warmth of her mothers palm and felt comforted. She felt loved. She felt like she could tell this woman anything.

"Well," Terra began, "I'm fighting the the Teen Titan Beastboy, but I don't seem to want to. I have these strange powers and I feel like everything im doing isn't in my control. And right when I'm about to finish Beastboy off, I stop and he speaks to me... what he says... I don't know... it helped me. I regain control and start attacking someone else. Someone I don't recognize. In the end I tell Beastboy he's the best friend I ever had and I end up sacrificing myself to save everyone with my power. Then I wake up."

Her mothers smile vanished the second she heard Terra say Beastboy. She didn't want Terra anywhere near him. After all, she believed Terra had been seriously injured because of him. Lindsey didn't care if Terra's memories were of them or not. When it came to Terra's safety that meant everything to her. She didn't want her anywhere near the Teen Titans. Especially Beastboy.

"Hmm..." Her mother said calmly covering up her angst, "maybe your accident with them caused you to have strange dreams with them in it?" She was trying to subtly rule out of the idea that Terra was a Teen Titan.

"But dad said that the Teen Titans stayed at my bed until you guys showed up at the hospital," Terra respond looking at her mother like she could see through her true intentions, "dad said Robin told him I was part of their team once."

"Oh your father just likes to make things up to make you feel better faster," Her mother respond instantly. She was desperately trying to keep Terra from seeking out the Titans for answers.

"Mom," Terra said sternly getting frustrated, "I woke up next to a plaque that said I _was _a Teen Titan. That I _was _their friend. How do you know it's not true? I don't remember anything. Maybe these dreams are telling me something."

Her mother got angry. Thunder roared outside Terra's bedroom window and Lindsey raised her vioce.

"No!" She shouted, "I can't even think about losing you again," her voice trembled as she thought back to seeing Terra in her recovery room, "I don't want you anywhere near them."

"But mom!-" Terra began to protest but was interrupted by her angry mother

"_Especially _that green one," she paused as if saying his name was a curse word, "Beastboy."

Terra's heart sank. She couldn't believe her mother would go to this length to keep her safe. She knew her mother was protective but this was almost a crazy level of over-protective.

They sat in silence for a second while Terra looked at her mother in shock. After a long pause of silence Lindsey stood up walked to the door and turned to look at Terra one last time.

"I'm sorry sweetie," she said calmly almost saddened that she had to yell earlier, "but it's for your own good. And that's final," she had a sense of seriousness in her voice that seemed almost scarey to Terra. Just before she left her voice returned to calm and loving like she really believed what she decided was in her dadaughter's best interest, "I love you sweetheart. Get some sleep. Goodnight."

Terra was in disbelief. She never thought she would have heard her adopted mother tell her that not recovering her memories was for her own good. She didn't know what to say and remained silent as her mother stood in the door waiting for a response.

Terra turned her head away from her mother and refused to say anything back to her. She was furious that her mother wouldn't even consider the possibility of her once being a Titan or just talking to them to know for sure and possibly get some answers to her past.

After another long moment of silence. Her mother finally accepted that Terra wasn't going to respond. She lowered her head and closed the door slowly.

Once the door shut Terra jumped out of bed and grabbed her backpack. She stuffed a flashlight, some snacks, and water and waited for the hallway light to fade from under the crack of her bedroom door.

A few mintues later the illuminated crack at the bottom of her door went dark and she heard the door of her parents room shut. She knew her parents had gone to sleep. With a deep breath Terra slowly and quietly opened her bedroom door and stepped out into the dark hallway moving as quiet as possible.

At the Tower the thunder and rain continued. Cyborg was running tests on the mechanical creature in his lab. Something didn't make sense to him about this thing. It had some very unique qualities that seemed impossible even after all the things he's seen first hand throughout his experience as a Titan. He spent so much time trying to figure it out that Robin started to get worried about him. As Cyborg continued to bury his mind into any possible answer to this riddle in front of him he was completely oblivious to Robin knocking on the door.

"Cyborg," Robin said softly, "are you ok? I haven't seen you in a couple days."

No response.

"Cyborg?" Robin said a little louder.

Still no response.

"Cyborg!" Robin shouted with worry. He threw the door open to see Cyborg Standing over the table in his lab, staring down at test results next to the mechanical face, "Cyborg..." Robin repeated softly, "what's wrong?"

Cyborg finally lifted his head away from the table.

"Huh? Oh. Hey Robin," he sounded like he didn't even care Robin was there and looked back at the table.

"What's wrong?" Robin repeated walking towards the table.

"Nothing," Cyborg said lazily. He wasn't even trying to conceal his confusion, "this thing has some unbelievable... Impossible tech behind it," he said still baffled.

"What do you mean?" Robin asked.

"I mean... This thing has... DNA. But it's not biological," he paused trying to figure out how to explain it, "it's almost as if... it's digital DNA."

Robin raised an eyebrow. None of what his friend just said made any sense to him. Cyborg saw this and was glad Robin was also confused.

"I know right?" Cyborg said relaxing a little, "instead of cells and biological anatomy that makes up a normal living thing's DNA, this thing has DNA made up of the entire periodic table. Every element you can think of can be processed and repurposed at it's own discretion."

"That explains why it could turn into anything it touched," Robin said making the connection.

"Yeah... but how?" Cyborg said still confused, "this kind of tech shouldn't even exist yet. This is on another level. Not even alien technology can create this."

"Well it's been over two weeks and we haven't seen anything like it since. I guess the real fight we have to handle is the one with our city," Robin sounded worried like the city was ready to revolt to disband them, "we're gonna have to show them we're still good for the city but I'm not quite sure how we're gonna do that when they won't trust us to fight crime. In the past two weeks we haven't recieved a single call and villains and criminals are causing all kinds of trouble knowing we can't stop them."

"Maybe we could do patrols through the city on our own," Cyborg suggested, "the people might not want us around but when they need us we'll be there."

"I hate to say it... but that might be our only option until we catch a break in this case," Robin replied with a sigh.

They sat for a long moment in silence. Cyborg was trying to figure out who could have possibly created this master piece of technology while Robin was trying to think of a way to clear their names. But the silence was short lived when a loud ring shook the Tower from the front door...


	18. Answers?

**A/N: To all those reading this... Thank you again! I have been DYING to write this scene. It's got so much in it that I had to break it into two parts. I really wanted to get the detail and imagery perfect so sorry it took a minute to get this one published. But again thank you for the reviews! Some of you have a good idea where I'm headed with this story but I'm not gonna give anything away! So please keep faving/following for more. Thank you so much! Hope you like it!**

The doorbell sounded like a loud gong with a resonating high pitch, followed by a second impact of the bell in a lower tone. It echoed throughout the Tower waking anyone who might have been sleeping. Thunder roared from the storm continuing to pour outside the Tower before the bell rang again.

The door to the living room shot open as Beastboy made his way to the door. He let out a huge yawn as he wore his night cap with a fuzzy ball at the end of the pointed top that dangled on his shoulder.

The doorbell rang a third time.

"Alright, alright! I'm coming!" Beastboy yelled at the door. He was angry to be awake this late at night. He started making his way to the door across the living area as the bell rang again, "do you have any idea what time it is?! How is a guy supposed to get his beauty sleep with some random dude ringing our doorbell all night?!"

He reached the door as the bell rang once more. He opened it with rage ready to scream at who ever was on the other side.

"What?!" He screamed. But his eyes went wide and his face went lifeless.

Terra stood on the other side of the door with a look of fear and regret for coming to the Tower. She began to question her own thoughts on her dreams as she stood in the rain in her pajamas with a green superhero yelling at her. She wore a dark purple rain coat over her pajamas with the hood up. Her right arm was still in a sling and was under the unzipped jacket since she was unable to get her arm through the sleeve.

"Uh... I'm... I'm sorry," Terra said speechless. _What was I thinking? _She thought to herslef, "I'm sorry," She said again with more confidence. She started to back away slowly before she would turn and jump into a full sprint away from the Tower, "I should go," Terra started to turn to head back out into the dark of the storm when a kind voice called out to her.

"Terra!" Robin shouted. He and cyborg both entered the living area as Terra was about to leave and shouted to her from across the room, "Wow! It's so good to see you doing better!" Robin and Cyborg ran over to where Beastboy stood.

Terra stopped in her tracks feeling better after hearing some welcoming words. However Beastboy was still frozen and looked like a ghost was staring him in the face.

"What's up little rock girl?!" Cyborg said playfully trying to ease her mind.

Terra looked at them confused as to why they were so nice and what Cyborg meant by that.

"Come on in. You must be freezing!" Robin said with a smile.

Terra hesitated but figured she came all the way out here... She might as well get some answers. She stepped in slowly, walking past the frozen green shapeshifter. She starred at him as she walked by with a tiny smile. He was the only one she could _"__remember__"_ but when she got no reaction from him, her smile turned to a frown and she followed the other two Titans inside as Cyborg turned to the couch to grab a thick blanket from a small compartment beneath one of the couch cushions.

Robin gently helped her out of her rain coat and hung it up next to the door. He closed the door and walked past Beastboy once again who still remained frozen in place. Once she sat on the couch Cyborg wrapped the blanket around her.

"How about something warm to drink?" Cyborg asked her with a warm welcome.

"Um... sure?" Terra said shocked at the hospitality she was being shown from these strangers.

Robin retuned to the couch and sat next to her a few feet away on her right side.

"Are you ok? What are you doing here this late at night? And in this storm for that matter..." Robin asked concerned with an eyebrow raised.

"I... Um..." Terra thought twice before talking to them. She thought for sure her dreams would sound absolutely insane to them. She was about to think of some outrageous lie to get out of there as soon as possible when Cyborg returned with a cup of perfectly heated hot chocolate.

"Not too hot. Not too cold. Shaken, not stirred. Extra chocolate. Just the way you like it," Cyborg said confidently with a big smile. He placed the cup in Terra's left hand and waited for her to try it. He wanted to see if she still liked it the way he remembered.

She gave a small smile back to him and took the cup. She had a sip and her face lit up from the explosion of perfection that Cyborg had made for her.

"This is amazing!" She said almost yelling from excitement. She finished the whole cup in a few gulps and held the cup back to Cyborg with stars in her eyes, "can I have some more?!"

Cyborg chucked with a giddy smile and gladly took the cup and went back to the kitchen to make her a second helping.

Robin turned towards the front door to see Beastboy still standing where he stood earlier when he answered the door. His night cap was slightly tilted from earlier and looked like it was about to fall off. He didn't even consider how Beastboy might feel from this surprise visit from Terra. He started to get worried and wanted to get to the bottom of why she was here.

Robin cleared his throat as Cyborg retuned again with another cup of hot chocolate and sat on the other side of Terra opposite of Robin. Once Terra had the warm cup in her hand, she began sipping at it. As she did Robin decided to ask again.

"Terra," he started again, "do your parents know you're here?"

Terra's excitment for her perfect drink disappeared and she remembered she snuck out of her home to get answers that her adopted mother didn't want her to pursue. She lowered the cup from her lips and placed it in her lap in front of her cast as the thick blanket Cyborg wrapped her in surrounded her. She starred down at the steam rising from the cup.

"No. They don't," She sounded disappointed. Like she let her parents down, "they wouldn't be very happy if they knew I was here. At least... my mom wouldn't be very happy."

Robin's face grew more concerned as if this was somewhat their fault that her parents were not ok with her being at the Tower.

"Then why risk coming here? Is there something you wanted from us?" Robin asked trying to get solid answers from her.

Terra hesitated once more. She still thought she would sound crazy to them but she desperately wanted answers and she would take any risk to get them.

"I... I need to ask you something," she started as she worked up the courage to ask. She took a deep breath and tried to relax as she felt her hand start to shake the cup in her hand, "was I... Were we..." She shift her eyes towards Robin and could see Beasboy over his right shoulder with his back still facing them, "were we... friends?"

Beastboy raised his head further as if jumping from that question. It jolted him out of his frozen state and his cap fell off his head and hit the ground silently. He turned and began walking quickly past the others on the couch towards the door to the hallway keeping his head down, avoiding eye contact.

Terra watched him every step of the way as he made his way into the hallway. She felt hurt that he wouldn't even acknowledge her. After all... _He _was the main reason she convinced herself to come to the tower in the first place.

Cyborg and Robin also watched as Beastboy silently marched past them without a word. The two made eye contact like they both understood why he couldn't be in the same room as Terra at the moment and decided to focus on Terra for the time being.

"Was it... Something I said?" Terra said worried that she might have scared him off.

"What BB? No! No way! He's just... uh..." Cyborg said trying to comfort her but unsure how to explain.

"I think he just needs time to take it all in that you're actually here... At the Tower again," Robin said softly trying to finish for Cyborg

"Again?" Terra asked begging for clarity, "You mean from when he brought me here last time?"

"Um... no," Robin said unsure what she was referring to, "from when you were part of the team," Robin said trying to be clear.

"So I _was _a Teen Titan?" Terra asked feeling relieved she wasn't crazy for sneaking out to come to the Tower.

Beastboy was walking quickly through the dimly lit hallway. He wanted to run but he didn't want to make the metaphor of _"running away"_ into a literal action. As he walked down the hallway towards his room Starfire and Raven were walking down the hallway from the other direction. They had also heard the doorbell and were curious as to who their visitor was.

"Friend!" Starfire exclaimed as Beastboy approached them, "who might our guest be at this time in the night?"

Beastboy marched right past them without a word still keeping his head down, still avoiding eye contact.

"Beastboy?" Raven asked quietly feeling an overwhelming mixture of emotions radiating off of him. She instantly knew who was at the Tower. Raven turned towards the door to the living area and she felt a strong surge of anger pulsing through her.

"Beastboy is, ok?" Starfire asked Raven watching her friend fade away into the hallway.

"No," Raven said starting to march agressively towards the door past Starfire, "he isn't."


	19. Unfinished Business

**A/N: To all my readers... I'M SO SORRY. A co worker of mine recently passed away and we are really short staffed so I've been working like crazy! I know I promised the next chapter earlier but I'm still committed to making this chapter as good as it can be. Again it turned out to be way longer than I expected so its now broken into three parts. Thank you for baring with me! I hope you enjoy!**

The intensity of heavy drops of rain started to fade as the storm outside died down but rain still continued to fall lightly on the Tower. Cyborg and Robin still continued to focus on Terra. She was dealing with something serious and they wanted to help the one who saved their lives and the city they protected.

"Terra?" Robin began starting to connect the dots, "are you getting your memories back?"

Cyborg looked at Robin eyes wide. He knew that amnesia is a very difficult condition to recover from. The chances for getting your memories back are slim to none but there could be only one explanation for why Terra was at the Tower with them. He felt dumbfounded that he didn't realize it sooner.

"Well..." Terra started, "I-"

Terra was cut off as the the door to the hallway opened wide and Raven came charging into the room. All three of their heads snapped towards the door to see a very serious look on her face like she had unfinished business to take care of. Starfire followed in behind her quietly.

"What is _she_ doing here?" Raven asked with a serious tone. Raven was acting as if she couldn't even see Terra. She was only addressing Robin and Cyborg.

"We're trying to figure that out," Cyborg shot back feeling the tension in her voice.

Raven levitated off the floor and flew over to the front of the couch landing in front of Terra. She stood directly over Terra less that two feet away standing like she towered above Terra and the others.

Starfire followed in quietly and hovered over to her friends and stood behind the couch where Terra sat. She looked like she was seeing ghost. Her eyes wide with no idea how to feel. This was the first time she saw Terra since Terra sacrificed herself to save everyone. She was told by the others that she was alive again but she hadn't seen it with her own eyes yet. Seeing her under these circumstances was not ideal and she didn't know what to do.

The room went silent and the tension grew. All eyes were on Raven seeing what she'd do next. After the silence grew stronger, Raven finally spoke up.

"Well?" She said firmly crossing her arms in front of her chest, "what are you doing here?" Raven spoke slowly as if speaking to a toddler.

"Raven," Robin said sternly trying to calm her down, "that's enough."

"Yeah," Cyborg said trying to help, "the girl has been through a lot lately. We don't need to make it worse for her."

Raven clenched her teeth as if angry with her teammates. She felt like they cared more about Terra than they did about their closest friend Beastboy.

Terra could see the anger on Raven's face. She felt small and very intimidated. She gripped the cup in her hand a little tighter as fear wrapped around her like the blanket she wore.

"I..." Terra was tongue tied. She had no idea why this girl was so hostile towards her. She couldn't remember anything about her past. The only thing she did "_remember"_ was this dream. The dream where she did something that forced her to give up _"__the best friend she ever had."_ Beastboy.

Terra lowered her head with a heavy heart thinking about her dreams. It was the only thing she had remotely close to a memory and she was beginning to understand that this memory was not a good one.

"Answer me!" Raven said raising her voice through her clenched teeth.

"Raven!" Robin said starting to get angry at his friend.

"It's ok," Terra said from her lowered head. She looked up at Robin thankful that he was defending her but a look of dread appeared on her face for reasons she still didn't know why. She turned her to gaze to Raven and looked her in the eyes, "look... Terra said calmly, "I have no idea why your angry with me. I have no idea what happened between us. I can't remember anything... But I do know that I did... something. Something bad," her voice left her as she couldn't imagine what she could have done that might have caused this person to resent her so much. She started to tear up understanding that whatever she did it was worse than bad. It was terrible. Unforgivable, "But I am so... so sorry," her voice trembled as she apologized for what she didn't understand, "whatever I did I'm so sorry!" She leaned towards raven in her seat trying to emphasize how truly sorry she was.

"Sorry? Sorry for what?" Raven respond quickly, "the time you tried to kill us? The time you almost destroyed the city and everyone in it? Or how about for breaking the heart of someone who loved you more than life?!" Raven's voice grew louder with each sentence as she leaned towards Terra to emphasize how serious she as well.

The whole room went silent again and everyone's eyes went wide. Terra's most of all. She sat back into the couch. Starfire put a hand over her mouth to cover her gasp as Robin and Cyborg stared at Raven in awe. It was as if Raven had forgotten everyone else was in the room with her. Almost like Terra was the only one in front of her.

"I... Tried to kill you?" Terra said terrified. She just realized she had walked into a building where five people lived, all of which she had once tried to wipe of the face of the earth. She was starting to worry this really _was _a huge mistake.

"Raven," Robin said calmly trying to de-escalate the situation, "she also _saved _us. She saved the city. At the cost of her own life. She made more than enough amends for her mistakes."

Raven looked at Robin. His face was kind and sincere. Like he knew what she was feeling. Her face relaxed and she regained her composure standing up straight. She could see her secret really was not a secret anymore. She looked over to Cyborg as well. He had the same look. Cyborg had figured out what Robin was saying when they spoke in his room. Raven's current change really has been due to Beastboy and now he knew why. Raven's last sentence to Terra spoke volumes.

Raven sighed and hung her head low as she closed her eyes. She felt awful for her outburst on this poor girl who couldn't remember anything. It was like she dropped a nuclear bomb on her with all this _"new" _information.

"I'm sorry," Raven said unconvincingly, "I know you can't remember any of it. But I _can_. I remember everything as if it happened yesterday. I guess I still haven't gotten over it," she looked at Terra with a painful stare, "I still don't trust you," she said softly, "but you deserve answers," with that Raven flew over the couch once more back to the the hallway door. She didn't want to be in the same room as Terra either.

Everyone in the room watched her exit the room without another word. Robin turned back to Terra after the hallway door slid shut and picked up where Raven left off.

"And we will give you those answers. Anything you want to know, all you have to do is ask," Robin said kindly.

Terra was staring at the door where two people have now stormed out due to her presence. She felt uneasy but felt better that those who were uncomfortable around her were now out of the room. She couldn't help but think about the time Beastboy had tried to help her recover her memories. He was trying so hard to help her and she blew him off like he didn't matter. But now she could see it was obvious that was not the case. What Raven said terrified her. She tried to kill all of them. She thought that was the worst of it... but Raven made it seem like she did something worse.

_Breaking someone's heart... was worse? _Terra thought to herself. _Beastboy's __heart? _Terra's dread grew as everything started to make sense. Why Beastboy was so sincere and kind with her. Why he was so desperate to get her to remember. And why he was so relentless in chasing her down to help her. He loved her.

"Beastboy," Terra finally said looking away from the door and back down at her now cold drink, "did I... did I hurt him?"

Robin and Cyborg didn't know how to answer that. They looked at each other with no idea how to answer.

"He was very damaged when you decided to be the apprentice of Slade," Starfire decided to answer for them.

"Who's Slade?" Terra asked.

"An evil mad man who will stop at nothing to find an apprentice to help him take over the city," Robin answered from experience, "he forced me to be his apprentice once," Robin looked away remembering the pain of fighting his friends in order to save them, "he used my friends as a way to get to me. I had no choice but to do what he wanted. If I hadn't he would have killed all of them."

Cyborg and Starfire looked at Robin remembering the past. They both thought about how he sacrificed himself to save them just like Terra did. That kind of friendship is hard to find. They were proud and grateful to call him their leader.

Terra's mind flashed back to her dream. The face of the shadow who she started attacking after she regained control of herself in front of Beastboy.

"Did he do the same thing to me?" Terra asked.

The Titans went silent. They knew it wasn't because Slade threatened anyone she cared about. She was just manipulated by someone who promised her control. Control over her powers that caused problems for her everywhere she went. Someone who could save her from herself. But in the end it wasn't _her_ control he offered. It was _his_ control over her entirely.

"You kinda... _chose_... to be his apprentice," Cyborg said a little tense. He was unsure how she was gonna take that.

Terra looked up at Cyborg a little scared but was happy they were telling her the full truth without holding back.

"And Beastboy?" Terra said once more, "how bad was it when I..." Her voice trailed off trying to figure out what she was trying to say, "how bad did I hurt him?" She felt she already knew the answer from what she said to him last.

Raven was headed down the hallway, speed walking. She wanted to check on Beasboy to make sure he was ok. When she finally got to his room she was about to knock but stopped short. She was still not the best at talking to people. So needless to say, she couldn't figure what she was gonna say. After a moment of her fist hovering over the door she took a deep breath and knocked softly.

"Beatboy," Raven said with sympathy, "are you ok?"

She didn't get a response. She figured Beastboy was in pain and didn't want to talk.

"Beastboy," she said again louder than the first time, "I know you probably don't wanna talk but I'm willing to help however I can," she sounded sincere and caring like she really wanted to help him.

Nothing but silence returned to her again. Raven began to worry.

"Beastboy?" She asked hoping he wouldn't mind that she was about to intrude into his space.

She opened the door to find an empty room. The window was wide open as bright flashes of lighting danced in the distance as the storm drifted further and further away. Beastboy couldn't just be in the same room as Terra. He couldn't be in the same building either.


	20. Déjà Vu

**A/N: To all my readers, thank you guys! I know I'm falling behind with my initial goals to get a chapter up every day. But rest assured I'll get back to that point eventually! We're almost half way done with this story and I can't believe how much support I've been getting from you guys. Seriously it means everything! So please keep leaving me reviews on how I can improve and if you like what you're reading please drop a follow or fav! Thanks! Hope you all enjoy!**

The storm had steadily been dying down as the night dragged on. The rain had slowly become a slight drizzle as the Titans continued to try to piece together Terra's missing past. But the question that Terra had asked them was not an easily answered question. Terra had obviously hurt all of the Titans... but one was devistated much worse than the others...

"Beastboy? Uh... Well lets just say he's been... different even since he found you at your school," Robin said as gently as he could. He knew answering Terra's question was gonna be painful no matter how he answered it.

"He really cared about me didn't he?" Terra replied looking down at her half empty cup.

"More than anyone," Cyborg add. He voice was soft and caring as if his best friend were in the room right next to him.

"We all cared for you, Terra," Starfire spoke up trying to emphasize that it wasn't just Beastboy who was sad from losing her, "we were best of friends and you made the most excellent addition to our team."

Terra look over her shoulder at Starfire. Starfire had a small smile on her face. She was delighted to see Terra again but Terra didn't even recognize her. Terra gave a small smile back but it didn't last long as she thought about what Starfire said.

"How?" She asked confused, "how could I have been part of your team? I can't do anything. There's no way I could help."

The Titans looked at each other worried. Had Terra lost all her powers? They all thought.

"You... Haven't made anything... um... happen lately, have you?" Cyborg said trying not to scare the girl, "you uh... used to be able to control rock and earth like it was your own personal playground," Cyborg finished trying to sound more cheerful.

"Well... No. If I had cool powers like that, i think I'd know," Terra replied with a giggle. She sounded a little disappointed, "But yeah..." she said looking at Cyborg, "Beastboy said the same thing right before he threw a clump of dirt in my face."

The Titans all had a look of no surprise on their face. They all knew Beastboy wasn't the brightest bulb and him pulling a stunt like that seemed just like him.

"Awwww B...," Cyborg smacked the palm of his hand to his forehead. He sounded embarrassed for Beastboy, "what were you thinking, man?" He asked himself rhetorically.

Terra chuckled at Cyborgs reaction to that story and turned to Robin after she remembered what he had said earlier to Raven.

"You said I saved you? Saved the city?" Terra asked trying to piece together the rest of the story, "yet the other girl said I almost destroyed it... Why would I save the city if I was trying to destroy it?"

Robin looked away for a moment. That was a great question. Robin couldn't get through to her when they last fought. He was giving her one last chance to snap out of Slade's control and come back to the good side... but even though he could relate to Terra the most, being a former apprentice to Slade himself, he still couldn't help her. However, neither could the rest of the team. So what _did_ change her mind?

"Beastboy," Robin thought outloud looking at Terra, "he was the one who got through to you. We showed up just as he did too. You took control of yourself and your powers and defeated Slade. But when you did, your powers triggered a volcano," Robins voice trailed off as he remembered the event like it was a fresh memory. The kind that would never dissipate no matter how old they became, "you took it upon yourself to fix your mistakes and you unleashed all the power you had to save us all."

Terra watched Robin as if she could see the whole thing happening in her mind. What she just heard was exactly like her dream. She knew now for certain, they really were memories.

"You wer- _Are_ a true friend Terra," Starfire said catching herself mid sentence.

Terra's gaze went from Titan to Titan. They all had small smiles on their faces agreeing with Starfire. They believed what Starfire said completely.

Terra looked back down at her cup. She thought about that for a second. She thought about everything she'd been through. Everything happening to the Titans now. It wasn't fair. To any of them. She gripped her cup tight and slammed it on the coffee table in front of her and stood up to face the three of them.

"No!" She yelled, "why would I _want_ to be a Teen Titan?! Look at what's happening! You stopped me from destroying the city, you saved the world, you risk your lives to protect everyone... and _this_ how everyone repays you?!" She turned to face the table where she set her drink down and noticed the newspaper sitting next to it from two weeks ago. She picked it up as she lowered her voice seeing the picture on the cover, "you even saved _my_ life and countless others," her mother popped into her head as she thought about how her mom didn't care that the Titans saved her life. She only cared that the Titans had injured her. Terra turned to face the Titans, holding the paper out so the cover was facing them, "just look at how you're being treated."

"Being a hero is a 24 hour job," Robin replied, "not everyone is going to be happy with our efforts. But the only thing we can do is continue protecting people. Even if they don't want us to."

Terra's face filled with remorse as she thought about how she treated Beastboy when all he was trying to do was help her regain her memories. How he offered a communicator for her to call him if she ever needed help and how she turned it down. How she turned _him_ down because she thought she didn't want or need his help. She lowered her arm and the paper slipped out of her hand to floor. She owed him an apology. She felt like he deserved better than how she had treated him.

"Can I... Can I see Beastboy?" Terra said without looking up at the the others.

"No, you can't," Raven said in a dark but worried tone from across the room as she entered.

"Raven," Cyborg replied instantly. He sounded frustrated that she's still stuck on this feud with Terra, "it might be good for BB if-"

"That's not what I meant," Raven said sensing Cyborgs intentions, "Beastboy is gone," her voice was serious and darker than usual, "his room was empty and his window was open."

The Titans grew concerned. _But why? Why would Terra being here force Beastboy to run away?_ They all thought.

"We'll start with where we found him last," Robin said standing up from the couch, "from there we'll fan out and search his favorite places. Cyborg, stay at the tower in case he comes back and search for his location using his communicator,"

"I can help," Terra said weakly trying to offer her assistance.

"You've done enough," Raven shot back with severe angst.

Terra felt the anger in her voice but she was getting tired of this attitude and started to retaliate.

"Look," she said with confidence as she started walking around the couch towards Raven, "all I wanna do is apologize to Beastboy for what I said to him and thank him for saving my life. If you think he doesn't deserve that than go ahead and try to stop me. But if not, then I'm coming with you and I'm going to help you find him," she fished her sentence face to face with Raven.

Raven was speechless. She was still very angry that Terra was in her home and had practically forced Beastboy out of it but she was right. Beastboy did deserve hearing those things from Terra and it could really help his mental state.

"Fine," Raven said swallowing her pride, "but if you hurt him again..." Her anger was boiling in her blood and her eyes started to glow with dark engery as she levitated off the ground over Terra, "I'll make sure you can never hurt him again. _PERMANENTLY_," she wasn't yelling but her voice was strict and serious like she had something worth protecting.

Terra's face was stricken with fear. She had no idea this woman was capable of such a horrifying power. But her fear faded as she remembered her dreams of Beastboy. She knew she had to do this. She had to see him one more time. Not just for herself but for him as well. She regained her composure in the midst of Raven's fury and calmly responded.

"If I hurt him... You'll never see or hear from me ever again," Terra sounded like she was making a promise with herself. Like she couldn't live with herself if she hurt Beastboy again.

Raven heard the sincerity in her voice. Her eyes stopped glowing and she slowly returned to the floor standing a few feet away from Terra. She looked deep into her eyes for any sign of lies or a alternative motive but found none. After a moment of silence in the Tower, she nod towards Terra accepting her help. After all, they had a common goal. Find Beastboy and bring him home.

Cyborg was already working on finding Beastboy again with his communicator. If he could find Beastboy before everyone left then they could all go get him together.

"Got a lock," he said thankful that he decided to get to work before anyone had left.

The whole room shifted to the Tower's main computer screen that filled the room.

"He's a few miles out of town," Cyborg hit a button that changed the screen to a satellite image of the area. It looked like a birds eye view of what seemed to be a run down carnival, "why would he go here?" Cyborg asked himself hoping the others might have an answer.

The room was silent. No one had any idea where this place was much less why Beasboy would be there. The silence fell away as a soft voice broke through the air.

Terra's eyes were wide with a sense of déjà vu and a hint of fear, "I... I think I know that place," Terra said softly like she didn't know for sure, "it's where my nightmares always happen."


	21. Failures

**A/N: To all my readers... Thank you so much! I had so much fun writing this chapter. Sorry it took me a while to get back into the swing of writing some quality material but I finally can again, now that I'm back on my usual routine! Please leave a review if you know how I can better my writing and if you like what you read leave a fav or follow! Again... thank you! I hope you enjoy!**

At the carnival, Beastboy was walking around trying to get Terra off his Mind. He felt the best way to get her out of his system was to go to the place she and him shared the most sensitive memories and fight the inner battle that plagued his mind with mixed emotions.

_You need to move on Beastboy. There's no point in living in the past. _He thought to himself. _Why did she have to come to the Tower? What was she doing there? I was just starting to move past all this__!_

He went from ride to ride seeing the memories of himself and Terra enjoying themselves as if they were happening right in front of him. His plan was obviously not working.

"Ahhh! Come on dude! Get it together!" He yelled at himself, leaning back as he wrapped his hands around the top of his head, "she's just _one _girl. A girl who doesn't care about you. You gotta get past this!"

He continued walking from ride to ride until he came to the house of mirrors. The place where he made the darkest memory he had of her. He took a deep breath and forced himself inside.

Making his way past every mirror he found himself surrounded by a circle of mirrors that had all been shattered. The air around him chilled him to the bone as if the ghost of his past was haunting him in this very room. He stared into a shattered mirror that reflect a dozen images of himself from each cracked shard.

"Why?" He asked his reflection in the broken mirror, "why didn't you save her?"

To his surprise the reflection spoke back.

"Because she lied to you. She tricked you into leaving your friends to die," it spoke.

"She wouldn't do that," he responded.

"Well she did," it instantly spat back, "and where were you? Playing games and riding carnival rides while your friends fought off the hoard of robots that Terra let in the front door of your home."

"I trusted her! She was my friend!" Beastboy said getting angry, "Slade was the one who did that! Not Terra!"

"Slade didn't force her to _do_ anything," the broken reflection argued, "she knew what she was doing!"

Beastboy lowered his head gritting his teeth. He knew what he heard was true but he still refused to believe it.

"Slade was right you know," the reflection continued, "she doesn't want to see you anymore."

Beastboy looked up at the broken mirror. With all the chaos that was going on, he completely forgot about the robotic replica of Slade he fought in the very room he was standing in.

"Face it Beastboy!" The reflection yelled, "it's over!"

Beastboy's face grew with rage and he morphed into a rhino and charged through the already broken mirror shattering the wall it was on sending the remaining shards flying. Now he stood in the middle of a separate room that was also surrounded by mirrors still intact.

This was the room where he made his biggest regret. Where he told Terra she didn't have any friends. Where Slade took her from him. He dropped to his knees and wept. Wept for his failure as a man. His failure as a friend.

The Titans were gathering at the Tower waiting for Robin's command to move out. Terra stood behind the team listening from a distance but Raven wouldn't let her out of her sight. She stood side-ways to the team so she could see Terra from the corner of her eye.

"Alright team," Robin spoke, "we need to get to this carnival as quickly as possible. Beastboy has been in a bad place lately so we need to make sure he's ok," he looked to Raven and Starfire, "Raven, Starfire. You two head there now ahead of us. The quicker you get there, the better," he turned to Cyborg and Terra, "Cyborg, Terra and I will take the T-Ship and make our way over as fast as we can."

The team all looked at Robin and nod their heads understanding what he was planning. Robin was planning on taking Terra home first so she would be out of harms way and Beastboy would be able to come home without worry. If Terra knew his plan she'd resist and they'd have another problem to deal with, delaying their rescue mission even futher.

"Titans, move!" Robin shouted.

Raven and Starfire head for the front door. Starfire opened the door and stepped out into the chill of the night's air from the storm that now only had a few drops falling here and there. She started to fly in the direction her communicator was telling her to go but Raven held back as she looked at the floor where Beastboys night cap still lay.

She picked it up and thought about Beastboy when he walked past her earlier. He was fighting to keep his promise to himself. His promise to let Terra go. But the last thing he needed was her showing up at the door late at night in the pouring rain. Pain shot through Raven's heart knowing that Terra probably halted his healing process he had struggled so hard to start. The healing that she so desperately wanted for him.

"Raven!" Starfire shouted back towards the Tower once she noticed her friend was not flying next to her, "we must find Beastboy at once!"

Raven gripped the night cap in a fist and looked up at Starfire hovering a fair distance away. She jumped into the air, leaned forward and quickly flew to where Starfire waited and they both took off like missiles towards Beastboys location.

"T-Ships ready to fly," Cyborg said as the engines powered up, "you sure about this?" He asked Robin knowing his plan.

"I'm sure," Robin said with a heavy heart.

"Sure about what?" Terra asked nervously. She could sense something was off.

The jets roared as the T-Ship took off into the night sky. They were not headed in the direction of the girls and Terra took notice. She grew worried.

"We're not following the others?" She asked with a heavy amount of concern.

"I'm sorry Terra," Robin said with sympathy, "we're taking you home. Beastboy needs time and with you around it's just gonna make it harder on him."

Terra's heart sank. She felt betrayed. She needed to talk to Beastboy. She needed him to know how sorry she was. She needed him to know how thankful she was for him. Now she didn't know when she would ever be able to tell him. A tear rolled down her cheek as she looked out into the darkness where the girls were flying away.

Raven and Starfire landed at the carnival. The roller coaster that used to Stand tall was now collapsed and in ruins from something massive that crashed through the tracks. The ferris wheel had been cratered from some unknown force that split the ground underneath it. It looked like no one had been to this carnival in ages.

"This is not a place I would find joy in attending," Starfire said worried for her friend, "why would Beastboy come to this location?"

Raven thought about what Terra had said before they felt the Tower. It was the place her nightmares took place. She could only imagine that Beastboy had been here with Terra a long time ago... and something went wrong.

"Let's just find him Star," Raven said equally as worried, "I'll start at this end, you start on that side. We'll meet in the middle. If you find him tell me."

Starfire nod and flew to the opposite end of the carnival. But Raven already knew where he was. She could sense him and all the anguish he was facing. She walked over to the house of mirrors and stood outside for a second before entering.

Raven wanted a moment alone with Beastboy to see if she could get an idea of where Beastboy stood with his emotions. She looked back to see Starfire was now out of sight and took a deep breath before looking back up at the entrance and stepping inside. She walked through the hallway of mirrors passing each reflection of herself with caution. When she came to a room of shattered mirrors she could hear weeping from an unknown location. She looked around to see a massive hole in the wall where something had recently bulldozed it to a pile of rubble.

"Beastboy!" She called out hoping to hear him respond.

The weeping went silent and Raven knew he was fighting hard to bury his emotions before anyone saw him.

She walked through the hole in the wall into a circular room that had all its mirrors intact aside from the one that was destroyed and replaced with a massive hole in the wall.

Beastboy sat in the middle of the room and Raven came in as he wiped his face with his sleeve with a sniffle. He kept his head down in his lap with his heels on the floor and his knees raised as his arms wrapped around them with his hands joined in front of him.

"Beastboy," Raven said again, "it's ok. You don't have to hide your emotions from me," she walked into the room and knelt down in front of him, "I've come to learn that keeping your emotions in... is a one way path to self destruction."

Beastboy's lips trembled as he fought back tears. He wouldn't allow himself to look up at Raven.

"Beastboy?" She asked concerned there was something more that she wasn't seeing, "what is it?"

Beastboy let out a quick sob followed by a quick breath. He breathed heavily in through his nose and raised his head.

"This is where I let her down," he confessed. He sounded like he was confessing to himself more than Raven, "this is where I turned my back on her. Where I lost her to Slade," he lower his head and the tears started to flow again, "this is where I made the biggest mistake of my life."

Raven face was in awe. Of all places why would he come here? The most painful place for him to be. What was the point of this?

"Why?" Raven asked confused, "why did you feel the need to come here?"

"I thought it would a good way to get past everything," he tried to explain, "I thought if I could handle being here... I could handle her haunting my mind," his voice cracked as he tried to get through it all, "but I was wrong. I can't do it. I'm not strong enough. I've never been strong enough."

Raven understood that he wasn't just talking about right now but the past as well. Raven's fears were confirmed. Beastboy had relapsed into his emotions. Terra's surprise visit hit him harder than she expected.

"What happened here, Beastboy?" Raven asked searching for answers.

Beastboy kept his head down not wanting to answer but he owed his friends some answers and decided to relive his darkest memories.

"The night Terra helped Slade attack the Tower... She brought me here," his voice changed it was a little brighter than before as if remembering a good memory, "we were laughing... having fun... playing games and riding rides," his voice went dark again, "but then _he _showed up. He tried to take her. I fought him. I was trying to protect her," Beastboy paused as the pain took over, "but then he told me that Terra was his apprentice. That she helped him attack you guys."

"Slade took advantage of her," Raven said trying to comfort him, "it wasn't your fault."

"I could've stopped him!" Beastboy raised his voice in frustration, "but I was so angry with her... I yelled at her. I told her we weren't friends even after I promised we always would be," his voice went soft, "and then she went with Slade... and I didn't even try to stop her."

Raven understood now why the carnival was in ruins. Beastboy fought Slade and tore the place apart fighting him. She knew now that he wasn't just struggling to get over Terra. He was struggling to get over his memory of abandoning her when she needed him.

"I'm... I'm so sorry, Beastboy," Raven said unsure of what else to say, "these memories... this place... it's just a massive nightmare for you," it was more than a coincidence Terra had said the same thing. They must share the same feeling about this place even if they don't know it. Raven looked away trying to figure out what to say next, "but you can't blame yourself. Terra made that decision and there was nothing you could do about it," she looked back at him and raised his chin so he was staring at her, "she's different now though," she said trying to bring him hope, "she came to the Tower wanting to tell you she's thankful for you. Thankful that you saved her. She wanted to apologize for everything," Raven looled away with a small amount of shame, "I may have been... kinda rude to her..." Her gaze returned to Beastboy's eyes, "but when she said she was sorry I could tell she meant every word even though she has no memory of what she did," Raven felt a sharp pain in her chest as she was about to say her next sentence, "I think... I think you should talk to her. It might bring you the peace you need."

Beastboy's eyes stayed locked on Raven's and they stared at each other for a long moment in silence. Beastboy had never seen this from Raven... She _wanted _him to talk to Terra? This was completely unexpected. Beastboy knew that Raven only wanted to help him and that she was giving him the best advice she could. She truly wanted what was best for Beastboy even if she didn't like it herself. He felt an overwhelming amount of support from her and it brightened his spirit immensely.

Beastboy took her hand off his chin and as Raven was about to take her hand back he gripped it tighter keeping her close to him. Raven blushed as she let Beastboy grip her hand tightly.

They both started to lean towards each other as their faces grew closer and closer to one another. The silence grew excpet for the pounding in their chests as their eyes began to shut...

"Beastboy!" Starfire shouted as she interrupted them.

The silence shattered around them and their heads snapped towards the hole in the wall where Starfire stood.

"Thank X'Hal you are unharmed!" Starfire ran across the room, sliding on her knees into Beastboy's side wrapping her arms around him nearly squeezing the life out of him.

"Yeah..." Beastboy gasped trying to breathe, "I'm ok Star," he said desperately trying to get her to release him as his face started turning blue.

Raven's blush faded and she stood up and turned her back to them. She put her hood over her head in a stupor, unable to comprehend what nearly just took place.

_Perfect timing as usual Starfire. _Raven thought to herself.


	22. The Calm after the Storm

**A/N: To all my readers, thank you! I know its been a drama packed series so far but I promise to deliver on some action in the next few chapters. I hope your enjoying this as much as I am and honestly I can hardly wait to see what comes next as I'm writing. Please leave a review to help me better my writing! Always open to constructive criticism and ideas. They really help a lot! As always please leave a fav or follow if you like what you're reading. Thanks again! I hope you enjoy!**

The T-Ship landed on the outskirts of the City in a damp field the storm had left in its wake. It was nearly 1:00AM and the T-Ship's engines could easily wake the entire neighborhood if they landed any closer. They were a few blocks from Terra's home and Terra knew she had no choice but to do what the Titans wanted and follow them to her home.

As the engines whirred to a stop Cyborg and robin both got out landing in the wet grass with a small splash. They both reached up to Terra and gently lifted her off the step she stood on and set her down softly. She held her rain coat in her left arm and looked up at the two Titans with disappointment and sadness.

The two lowered their heads unhappy with themselves that they had to trick her into taking her home but they felt they had no other choice.

They had a bit of a walk to Terra's home and the silence between all of them was haunting. But something was bugging Robin ever since Terra was found by Beastboy. What happened? And why did it affect Beastboy so much? It bothered him so much that he spoke up and it nearly startled both Cyborg and Terra as they quietly walked.

"Terra," Robin started, "something has been bothering me ever since Beastboy came back from seeing you a few weeks ago."

Terra looked back at Robin like a scared child. She thought she had done something wrong and she was in trouble.

"Beastboy hasn't been the same since he talked to you," Robin continued, "what happened between you two? What did you say to him?"

Cyborg looked at Robin and his curiously peaked. He was also wondering the same thing. He looked down at Terra and waited patiently for her to answer.

Terra looked down at the sidewalk they were about to begin walking on to enter the neighborhood. She thought back to when he asked her to get a pizza. How he followed her around her school. He was committed to talking to her no matter what the cost.

"He said he knew me," Terra began to explain, "I told him he had the wrong girl but he seemed positive that I was the one he was looking for," she looked up at Robin who was still watching her closely, "he seemed so sure that I actually believed he might have known me. From a long time ago. Back before I lost my memories."

"What made him go so crazy after you guys talked then? He seemed like a completely different person," Cyborg said pressing the original question.

"I... might have... told him what I thought he needed to hear?" Terra said looking out the corner of her eye towards Cyborg. She wasn't sure if they were going to like what they were about to hear, "he started stalking me and I got really creeped out."

"Stalking you?" Cyborg and Robin said together. They looked at each other like the were surprised but they knew it was entirely possible. If Beastboy was gonna stalk anyone... it was Terra.

"Yeah..." Terra continued cautiously, "he wouldn't leave me alone. He nearly followed me into the the girls locker room."

Robin and Cyborg stopped in their tracks with a dumbfounded look of concern on their lifeless faces. No wonder this girl told him what he needed to hear. He was literally following her around like an obsessed puppy. After Terra got a few steps ahead of them they quickly sped up to rejoin her slow pace to her home.

"So what did you tell him to get him to finally go away?" Robin asked, embarrassed for Besstboy.

"I don't remember exactly what I said," Terra explained, "I said something like... 'Things change. I'm not girl you want me to be.' Or something."

Robin and Cyborg looked at each other. With a small amount of confusion. That's what set Beastboy off?

"Wait..." Terra said catching herself, "I actually said, 'The girl you want me to be is just a memory.' Yeah. That's it."

They looked at each other again with a little more understanding. It sounded like Terra laid it on thick that she was pretending to remember everything so that Beastboy would leave her alone.

"So you made it seem like you could remember so that Beastboy would stop talking to you and accept your decision to live your own life?" Cyborg said trying to clear everything up.

"Yeah. That's pretty much it," Terra replied, "but I can see now that I meant a lot more to Beastboy than I originally thought," She stopped in her tracks and stared at the ground in front of her. The others stopped next to her looking down at her wondering why she had come to a halt, "can I ask you guys something?" She started, "and be completely honest with me."

"Of course," Robin answered for both of them, "you can ask us anything."

Terra took a moment to work up the courage to ask them both straight forward. But she wasn't sure if she was going to like the answer.

"Did... Did Beastboy mean a lot to me as well?" Terra asked softly.

The two Titans looked at each other and panicked. They had no idea. They knew Beastboy cared about Terra A LOT. But they had no idea if Terra had any feelings for Beastboy what-so-ever.

"Well... uh..." Cyborg said tripping over his words.

"If were being completely honest..." Robin continued for him, "we don't know. I don't even think Beastboy knows the answer to that," Robin quickly continued to add to his statement realizing how that must have sounded, "you guys had a lot between you. Way more than any of the rest of us could know."

"I thought so," Terra said with a heavy sigh. It was as if she already knew the answer, "I mean... what kind of girlfriend would try to kill her boyfriend's best friends?" She lowered her head futher and continued walking.

"That was... dark," Cyborg said speaking his mind looking at Robin, "like... darker than what Raven would have said," he emphasized.

They both started walking next to her and continued towards her house. The street was lit with light poles every 20 feet. It was just enough light to see but not enough to keep anyone awake if the light shined into their bedroom. As they walked past each pole Terra's house got closer and closer. When they finally arrived in her driveway she looked back at the Titans who looked almost just as upset as she did that she had to leave them.

"You'll get a chance to talk to Beastboy soon," Robin said reassuring her, "I promise."

"Don't worry," Cyborg said with half a grin, "you haven't seen the last of us."

Terra flashed them a small smile and turned to walk into her home as quietly as possible. After watching the front door close slowly and carefully the Titans turned and started to walk back towards the T-Ship.

Above them on the second story of the house, a pair of fingers held a single blind up from the the rest that completed the shutters of a bedroom window. Someone was peering out the window at whatever might have been in their driveway. Lindsey was standing at her window in her night gown. She was furious. She couldn't believe that Terra had disobeyed her and snuck out to see the Titans.

"Honestly," she whispered under her breath, "what were you thinking? You could have gotten yourself killed."

She gently let the blind realign on the shutter and walked back towards her bed where her husband slept soundly without a care in the world. She stood next to her nightstand and opened the top drawer quietly and reached inside. After feeling around the darkness of the drawer she found what she was looking for a pulled it out, shutting the drawer just as quietly as she opened it.

She walked towards the master bathroom that was connected to her bedroom and turned on the light after shutting the door behind her. The light illuminated what she was holding. A small card with a name and phone number typed in bold print.

_Melissa Wallace Attorney at Law_

"If you won't listen to me," She muttered to herself, "then I'll have to do this the hard way."

Once they were a fair distance away from any of the houses Cyborg and Robin began running to the T-Ship. They still didn't know what was going on with Beastboy and were worried they would need to expand their search. Robin pulled out his communicator while they were in a dead sprint and called to the others.

"Starfire, Raven, Report! Have you found Beastboy?" He said in a rush.

Cyborg and Robin made a swift turn into the field where they landed the ship and started sloshing through the damp grass kicking water up behind them.

But their steps grew slower as the communicator respond to them. It was Raven and she replied with her usual dark monotone.

"Yeah, we found him," she looked back behind her to see Starfire still choking the life out of Beastboy with ther alien strength hug. Watching this almost annoyed her, "though Statfire might suffocate him by the time you get here."

Cyborg and Robin breathed a sigh of relief with a slight chuckle as they heard about Starfire's powerful hug. They calmly boarded the T-Ship and the engines roared to life and the ship hovered off the ground and made its way into the night sky. They took off in a hurry in the direction of Raven's transmission.

Beastboy, Raven and Starfire sat on the steps outside the house of mirrors waiting for their ride to arrive. Raven sat in between Beastboy and Starfire. They all didn't know what to say to each after what took place that night.

They looked up to the sky as they heard the T-Ships engines echoing through the air. Once the aircraft was in sight they flagged down their friends and the T-Ship landed a safe distance from them. Robin and Cyborg got out and walked over to their friends.

"So..." Cyborg said trying to break the tension, "you alright B?" he said looking at his best friend.

Beastboy looked up at Cyborg and smiled, "yeah. I think I am," he looked at Raven who he found was staring back at him, "Raven said some things that I think really helped me."

Raven blushed and looked down at her feet tilting her hood to cover her face. The rest of the Titans grinned and starred at her. Starfire even let out a little giggle covering her mouth with the tips of her fingers.

"Well it's about time!" Cyborg said with enthusiasm getting the wrong idea.

Beastboy was confused as to why everyone was acting this way, "what do you mean?" He asked looking at Cyborg confused.

Raven looked up from her hood at Cyborg with a death stare and Cyborg realized he misinterpret what Beastboy said and misread the situation entirely.

Cyborg's face went red with panic. He scrambled for something to say to cover his tracks.

"Uh... I mean... It's about time... For waffles!" He said carrying his enthusiasm from what he said earlier, "who's hungry?" His face dawned a massive smile to cover up his embarrassment.

Robin covered for Cyborg by picking up where Cyborg left off.

"Cyborg's right. We'd better get home and get some food and some rest," he urged his team, "tomorrow we hit the streets. This city needs to know we are still here and we are going to protect them however we can."

The team all nodded in unision and gathered in the T-Ship to head home for some much needed rest.

The T-Ship docked in the hanger and the Titans disembarked. Beastboy seemed upset but looked as if he was doing much better. Even though he hadn't heard from Terra herself just knowing that she was thankful for him was helping ease his mind.

The team made their way to their individual rooms. Raven felt awkward for what just happened and couldn't let herself look at Beastboy.

Beastboy had been keeping a close eye on Raven. He also felt awkward but he didn't want Raven to feel that way. He felt bad that he almost forced her into that situation by gripping her hand tightly and not letting go.

The team was splitting off one by one to go to their individual rooms. Cyborg was the closest and he split off with an optimistic farewell for the evening.

"Night y'all! I'll have waffles ready for us in the mornin'!" Cyborg said. He felt he had to continue his charade to make up for almost letting Raven's secret slip out in front of Beastboy.

Beastboy's room was next and he stopped at his door and watched Raven start to fade away down the hallway with Robin and Starfire. Before he went inside he decided to call out to her.

"Hey Raven?" He said loudly down the hall.

Starfire and Robin turned around, while Raven stopped in her tracks unable to face Beastboy.

"Um... Could I talk to you for a second?" Beastboy sounded nervous. Like he did something to hurt her feelings.

Raven turned sideways towards Starfire looking towards Beastboy out the corner of her eye. She looked up at Starfire who was staring intently at Raven wondering what was about to happen. She gave a small smile to Starfire reassuring her that everything was going to be fine.

"You guys go ahead," she said to the others standing next to her, "this won't take long. Goodnight."

Starfire lit up with excitement but kept her actions well hidden to make Raven feel more comfortable. Robin saw Starfire's enthusiasm on her face and he grinned hoping this could help bring the team back to normal.

"Pleasant shlorvax!" Starfire yelled back to Beastboy.

"Night. Get plenty of rest. We're gonna need it for tomorrow," Robin add. His leader mentality never seemed to take a break.

The pair started heading down the hallway to their rooms giving their friends privacy to speak alone.

Raven dipped her head so her hood could conceale her face a little more and she turned to face Beastboy. She made her way over to his room where he stood outside his door. When she was close enough she stopped and looked up from under her hood to see Beastboy standing with his mouth slightly open like he didn't have the slightest clue what he was going to say.

"What is it Beastboy?" She asked gently.

Beastboy snapped put of his stupor and swallowed the knot in his tongue. He cleared his throat and started to speak.

"I uh... Just wanted to say I'm sorry about what happened earlier," Beastboy put his hand to the back of his head with a blush, "I don't know what came over me and uh... well..."

"You don't have to apologize," Raven said interrupting him, "you were emotional," she explained for him, "people do things they don't mean when they under a heavy amount of emotion."

"Oh... Well... Uh..." Beastboy didn't know how to respond to that. If Raven really meant that, then why didn't she stop him? Normally, she would have broke his nose before he even got anywhere near her face but it seemed like she was reciprocating the moment they shared.

Raven felt his nervous confusion and titled her head back slightly. She raised her hands and removed her hood, revealing the pale skin of her flawless beautiful face. Beastboy blushed a little more and he shrugged his shoulders trying to retreat like a turtle into its shell.

"Yeah... I guess you're right," he said with a chuckle, "my bad."

Raven could feel his disappointment. She wanted to tell him how she truly felt now more than ever seeing that Beastboy might have similar feelings for her. But what she told him she truly believed. He was very emotional and when your emotional you do things you don't mean. It was too soon for her to know for sure. Besides... if she said anything now it could futher complicate things with everything else that's going on.

She reached under her cloak and grabbed something soft from the large pocket on the inside.

"Here... you might need this," she said holding out Beastboy's night cap to him.

Beastboy's face went bright red with embarrassment. He relaxed his shoulders and set his hand down at his side reaching to grab his night cap with the other.

"That's... For... Um..." Beastboy was desperately looking for an excuse as to _why _he wore a night cap to bed, "it helps... Uh... with my dreams?"

Raven raised an eyebrow at Beastboy. _Seriously?__That's the best you could come up with? _She thought.

"Uh... Aren't dream catchers supposed to do that?" She said in her monotone voice, holding back a laugh.

"Well yeah. They do," Beastboy said trying to recover. He looked down at the soft cap with a fuzzy ball at the tip of the pointed hood, "but this is a... Dream catcher... night cap? Yeah! That's it!" Beastboy looked up at Raven still red as ever. He sounded like he was trying to convince himself more than he was trying to convince Raven.

Raven closed her eyes and chuckled as she let go of the night cap in his hand. She looked back up at Beastboy who was also chuckling with her. It was like the world stopped spinning for a moment and they could just be themselves for a second. The energy around them was warm and inviting with a glimmer of promise for the future. It felt good. It felt right.

"Get some sleep you idiot. You've had a long night," Raven said jokingly trying to end the conversation.

"Yeah. Now that I have my cap I'll have some amazing dreams," he said joking back at her, "goodnight Rae. And thank you. You know... For everything," Beastboy said with a smile.

Raven smiled and couldn't take her eyes off Beastboy. She didn't want this moment to end.

"You're welcome," she said softly and sincerely. She was sad she had to go but the joy she was feeling from talking to him was too strong for her to even notice, "goodnight."

She turned and started to walk towards her room as Beastboy's door finally shut. She had a grin on her face that seemed to be indestructible. Nothing could bring her down at the moment. She thought about Beastboy and his night cap. How they help his dreams. She giggled and whispered to herself...

"I think my dreams will be amazing tonight as well, Beastboy."


	23. A Fresh Start?

**A/N: To anyone reading this, again I thank you! I hope that doesn't get old, because i feel like I can't thank you guys enough. I love reading your reviews. I read them over and over and it keeps me going honestly! So this chapter could be a little confusing and there won't be an explanation for a few chapters but I promise it will all make sense later! Please leave a fav or follow if you like what you're reading and if you have time write me a review so I know how I'm doing! Thanks again! Hope you enjoy!**

The sun finally rose over Jump City after the storm. It was 9:00AM and Robin had called the Titans into the living area to go over his plan for the day.

"The city still thinks were no longer Trust worthy. So today we are going to earn back the people's trust back," he sounded confident like he knew this would work, "it doesn't matter how small the task is if there's someone you can help, help them."

"Hold up," Cyborg said frustrated, "you mean we're gonna run around the city doing charity work?"

"Exactly," Robin respond immediately, "trust is something that takes a long time to build and only a fraction of a second to destroy. We lost their trust. So until we earn it back we have to take it slow. One step at a time."

Cyborg was unhappy with this plan. He and the others have saved the city and even the world. They are superheroes. Not errand boys.

The team all shared his disagreement but what Robin said was true and they had no other choice except to follow his plan and hope for the best.

"Then... how do we accomplish this?" Starfire said encouraging Robin to continue.

"We split up," Robin answered, "we'll separate the city into sections. One of us will monitor and patrol each section. Help who ever you can, however you can. Anything you can find. No job is too small."

"So... what? We're supposed to be helping old ladies cross the street now?" Beastboy said expressing his frustration as well.

"If it comes to that, yes," Robin said getting irritated. He knew how the others felt. He too, felt that way... but what else could they do? No one would call them because of the fear from their last mission at the school and how the media had portrayed them. He looked down and his face had look of defeat, "listen, I know this might seem hopeless but if we want to get back to where we were... we have no choice."

The rest of the team saw his pain. They knew Robin felt just like they did about this plan. It wasn't a plan he had ever wanted to make but it was the best one any of them could think of.

"Alright," Cyborg said with a heavy heart, "so who's going where?"

Robin looked up. He was thankful Cyborg could be open minded and help him out by agreeing to his plan. He pulled out a remote and turned on the main screen that covered the widows in the living area. It showed a massive map of the city. Robin pushed a second button and an X crossed through the city separating the city into four sections.

"We'll split the city into four sections. North, south, east and west," Robin said continuing his brief, "Starfire you'll take the north. Cyborg, south. Raven, east and I'll take the west."

The whole team noticed that there were four sections but there's five members of the team. Beastboy had been left out.

"What about Beastboy?" Raven asked. She didn't want Besstboy to be left out of this trust building exercise. Especially when he needed it the most.

Robin pushed another button on the remote he held and widened the view of the map, showing the outer reaches of the city and beyond. The new area became highlighted by a red shaded circle that surrounded the previously designated sections of the city.

"Beastboy will patrol the outskirts of the city," Robin said having already thought the whole thing through, "until we have a little bit more trust on our side its best he helps from a distance."

"Uh... dude?" Beastboy said confused. He pointed to the rural areas on the map that barely had any signs of human population, "what am I supposed to do out there? Plant some trees?" He sounded disappointed and was trying to make fun of his job to help himself accept it.

"That's not a bad idea," Robin said trying to humor his bad attempt at a joke, "but you'll also be standing by in the event someone on the team needs help in their section," he looked up at the others, "but that is a last resort situation, understood?"

The team nod their heads understanding that Robin really did think this through very carefully.

"Any questions?" Robin asked concluding his brief.

The Titans looked around to each other seeing no one had any questions. They all looked back at Robin waiting for what he'd say next.

"Alright everyone has their assignments. Remember this is about building trust. Avoid injuring any civilians and damaging the city at all costs," Robin sounded serious. Like this was life or death.

The rest of the team was getting nervous from the seriousness coming from him. It finally dawned on them how important this was to Robin. All he knew was the hero life. Anything before that was just a nightmare to him. Protecting people gave him purpose. It kept him going. It was possible that being a hero is the only thing that kept him alive. If he lost that... they couldn't imagine what would happen to him.

"Titans, move!" Robin yelled.

Cyborg was in the T-Car, driving on patrols through the south side of the city, while Starfire was flying slowly above the north side of the city moving along the streets while Raven hovered above the east side doing the same. Robin rode through the streets of the west side of the city on his R-Cycle. They were all diligent and looking for any signs of trouble and even normal evey day tasks that could prove they were still the good guys.

As the day went on the sun peaked in the sky and noon had arrived with little for them to do.

Cyborg was driving through his side of the city when he noticed an old woman who appeared to be in her late 80s walking very slow to a street corner. She had a cane in one hand with a mid-sized purse on the opposite shoulder. She had huge glasses that could cover half her face and wore grey sweat pants with a blue v-neck t-shirt.

Cyborg was beyond bored. For the past few ours he hadn't run into a single whiff of trouble. He sighed and remembered what Robin said. _No job is too small_. He pulled over to a meter and hopped out of the T-Car. As he started to approach the old woman he started to get nervous.

_Come on man! You take down super villains and really bad dudes all the time and you're scared to help a little old lady?!_ He thought to himself. He took a deep breath and put a big smile on his face as he got closer to her.

"Excuse me ma'am!" Cyborg said as enthusiastically as he could, "could I help you cross this street?" He smiled hoping that this woman never watched the news.

The old woman had a gentle voice and before she looked up at Cyborg she spoke.

"Why thank you young man!" She said happy to get the attention, "you're so thoughtful-" She stopped mid sentence as she looked behind her at the half robot half man humanoid, "oh... well thank you, but I think I can manage."

Cyborgs heart sank. He thought his appearance had terrified the woman and he tried to explain.

"Don't worry ma'am," he said respectfully, "I just had an accident when I was younger and my father built this to save me. Nothing to be scared of."

"You're that Teen-Whatser-Fighter aren't ya?" She said recognizing him.

"Yes ma'am. I'm a Teen Titan," Cyborg was filled with hope that not everyone thought they were bad, "we're out here today trying to help the community however we can," he said proudly.

"I thought so," the woman's voice grew nasty like she despised him. She swung her cane over the top of Cyborgs head hitting his metallic side with a loud knock, "shame on you! How dare you kidnap that poor girl last night!"

Immediately following her outburst, the light changed and the old woman slowly began crossing the street.

Cyborg stood frozen on the corner of the street with his jaw dropped along with a blank dumbfounded expression on his face. His were eyes open wide, staring straight forward into space. He continued to stand there frozen solid trying to comprehend what just happened. The woman walked further and futher away until she was out of sight. Cyborg must have stood there for at least 10 mintues before his brain finally decided to react.

"SAY WHAT?!?!?!" Cyborg screamed with a mixture of anger, frustration and confusion.

Starfire was flying above her side of the city when she came to the park. This was the city's central park. It was massive. About 3 miles long and 1 mile wide. Big enough to hold a quarter of the city's population. It was a nice day and tons of families were there with picnic blankets and their pets.

A little girl could be heard crying in the park not too far from where Starfire was flying. She sprung into action and quickly flew over to the child. She wore a yellow summer dress with a pink rose in the center of the chest. Her hair was lifted into two separate ponytails one on each side of the back of her head. She couldn't have been more than 5 years old.

"Hello, small child!" she said with all her kindness. She bent down on her right knee to be at eye level with the frightened child, "may I be of help?"

The little girl looked up at Starfire hoping she knew what to do. No one else had come to help her and she was getting scared and started to panic.

"Might you know where your parents are?" Starfire asked, looking around for the childs parents.

The little girl shook her head and it became apparent that she was lost and couldn't find her parents. She started to tremble at thought of them and began to cry again.

"It is ok my little bumgorf," she said trying to comfort her, "we shall search for them."

Starfire stood up and offered her hand to the child. The little girl reached up to take her hand and they began walking around to find the missing parents.

"What are the names of your parents?" Starfire asked trying to make it easier to find them.

The child remained silent. It was entirely possible she only knew them as mommy and daddy.

"HEY!" A man in the distance to Starfire's right began sprinting towards them with panic in his eyes, "get your hands off my child!"

Now Starfire had a look of panic on her face. She didn't know what she did wrong. Or why this person just started screaming at her. As the man drew closer there was a woman right behind him also panicking.

"What do you think you're doing?!" She angrily asked Starfire.

Starfire regained her composure and tried to explain, "oh... might you be this lost child's parents?"

"Yes!" They both said together catching their breath still angry.

The man wore a sleeveless tank top shirt and board shorts. He was athletic and toned and wore sunglasses over his eyes.

"Now let go of her and give her back before we call the police!" The father sounded serious like he already knew what Starfire was trying to do. But Starfire had only been trying to help and he misunderstood completely.

"But I... Only wished to help." Starfire said. She was hurt that they thought she had ill intentions.

"We know who you are," the mother said grabbing her daughter and pulling her away from Starfire. She wore a pair of jeans short-shorts and a sleeveless tank top as well. She also looked very athletic like her husband. She stood in between her daughter and Starfire as if protecting her child, "and you're not going to steal her too!"

"Steal?" Starfire asked softly still confused.

"Mommy, the nice lady was helping me look for you," the little girl said from behind her mothers leg. She spoke like she was still leanring how to pronouce her words but was still able to get the message across, "I was so scared when I got lost but she made me feel better as we looked for you."

The parents both looked at her then back at Starfire. They didn't trust Starfire but their daughter seemed to be perfectly fine and even relieved that Starfire had found her.

"Come on sweetie," the mother said picking her up and walking away without another word.

The father continued to stare at Starfire unsure what to think. He backed away slowly and said a single word as he did.

"Thanks."

It sounded completley insincere. He didn't mean it at all. But something told him that Starfire really was trying to help. He just had conflicting opinions on the Titans at the moment and that was the only thing he could make himself say.

Starfire held back her sadness and stood up straight. She wasn't gonna let this stop her from making a positive difference. She floated into the air and began flying around her section of the city once again.

Raven flew above the her side of the city as well. However, her mind was elsewhere. She would continuously look up from the streets out at the horizon hoping to see a green bird flying not too far off in the distance. She felt bad for Beastboy. He was a valuable asset to the team and his abilities were being wasted on meaningless matters far away from the real problems.

Things were relatively peaceful on her side of the city. Not much that she considered to actually involve herself in. After all... she isn't exactly a "people person." If she tried to help with small things she might come off as a rude and self-centered person and it might make things worse for the team so she decided to only get involved with more serious matters.

The day continued to drone on. She couldn't help but wonder what Beastboy was doing on the outskirts. She would give anything to see him again. But she knew it would be better for both of them if they could get back on the city's good side.

Beastboy took the shape of an eagle flying through the sky with a small bag clutched in his talons. He found a baron patch of the nearby forest and flew down to it. He morphed into his normal form before landing and looked around at the area. It was where the forest had been burned down years ago by their friends Thunder and Lightning.

It wasn't their fault though. Someone had manipulated them into summoning an evil fire spirit that destroyed anything in its path. They were manipulated just like Terra was.

He let out a heavy sigh and raised the bag slightly in front of him and reached in with the other hand. He pulled out a single seed. It was the seed of a pine tree. At first he was just kidding when he asked if he should plant trees... but now he didn't know what else to do. He had been Flying around the outskirts for hours with absolutely nothing to do and no one to help. So he decided to take Robins advice. After all..._ it wasn't a bad idea._

He placed the seed back in the bag and walked to the center of the barren patch of forest and knelt down, putting the bag next to him. He morphed into a common household dog and started digging into the earth beneath him. Once he had a decent hole fit for a seed to spring to life, he returned to his normal form and picked up the bag once more.

"I don't know how... but hopefully this is a good start to something better for both of us," he spoke as if the seed were a person. He placed it gently in the hole and covered it with the dirt he had dug up, "I hope the others are ok," he said to himself outloud, "the sooner we go back to hero work the better," Beastboy looked to the city to see Raven floating over the east side closest to him. A smile crossed his face and he felt that it really could be a good start to something better.


	24. The Solo Hero

**A/N: To all my readers, welcome back! I read the reviews from last chapter and it looks like you guys didn't have any problem keeping up with the confusion the Titans are experiencing. So well done! lol But I also saw read a review pointing out some inaccuracies in Robin's character, however I didn't quite understand what they meant... So if you're reading this... please provide me an example or explanation so I can go back and fix those problems. Or if anyone knows what they meant... please help me out! haha Anyways I hope you guys like this chapter! Thank you so much!**

The sun had already peaked and started its decent to the horizon but there were still a few hours of daylight left. Robin started to get more focused now more than ever, even though he had an uneventful day so far. He knew the second he grew complacent something would happen and he wouldn't be able to help in time. Or worse... he'd miss something and someone would get hurt right in front of him. He continued to patrol the streets on his R-Cycle trying to find something or someone he can help.

The day was dragging on as time ticked away. It was nearly 5:00PM now and the Titans were getting ready to face the night when crime liked to show itself.

Robin was stopped at a street light when he saw a man with a bigger build than the average man. He was wearing a leather jacket and blue jeans with a black beanie on his head. His posture was strange. He kept his hands in his pockets with his head down. The man looked suspicious. Like he was up to no good. He was walking relatively slow for his size and seemed to be very focused on something.

Robin was so focused on this person he didn't realize the light turned green. The car behind him honked and it snapped him out of it. He drove through the light slowly and pulled over into a nearby alley and parked his bike. He went back out on to the sidewalk of the street and started following the suspicious man from a distance.

As he began to tail the stranger he started to realize what was happening. This man was walking slow as a way to not get noticed by an attractive young woman with her small child walking hand-in-hand in front of him. The woman was in her late 20's and she wore black leggings with a tight red tank top that gave her figure quite the appearance. She was in fantastic shape and had a beautiful diamond necklace in the shape of a heart around her neck. Her little girl was around 6 years old and wore small jeans with a pink t-shirt. Robin didn't know what this man's intentions were but it was obvious he was stalking them.

Robin was hoping the woman and her child would get in a car soon or turn to enter a store. Anything that would get them to a safer place. But instead he saw them walking further and further away from the crowd of people that populated the sidewalk they were walking on.

The mans pace started to quicken when he saw there were little to no people around them now. Robin started to run towards them. He wasn't about to let this guy follow through with whatever he had planned.

The man took off in a dead sprint towards the woman and her child. Robin was shocked at how fast this guy could run and started to worry knowing he was going to reach the two before he could stop him. The man had timed his sprint perfectly and grabbed the woman by the back of the neck just as she was passing a narrow alley and threw her into the darkness of the shadows.

Robin was already in a full sprint hoping to get there in time before anything more could happen. When he got there he saw the woman pinned against the wall of one of the buildings with one of the man's hands covering her mouth. Her toddler stood off to the side in sheer horror worried sick that her mother was about to die.

"Listen honey," the man said in a dark tone getting really close to her face, "just give me all your money and no one has to get hurt."

The woman was in complete panic. She was frozen in place. She looked as if nothing the man said had been audible.

"Did you hear me?!" He yelled, "I said give me your money!"

"You know," Robin said speaking over him, "if your planning to steal money from someone you better be willing to _pay_ for it."

The man looked at Robin and laughed. he wasn't intimidated in the slightest. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a switch blade. With flick of his wrist the blade snapped open and locked in place with a click. He threw the woman to the ground further in the alley. The little girl ran past the man to her mother who now had a quite few scrapes on her from being tossed around like a rag doll. The man cracked a nasty smile and faced Robin.

"No one's seen you in a couple of weeks," the man said trying to get into Robin's head, "we thought you had given up after all those kids ended up in the hospital."

Robins face turned to rage. He knew it. Crime had gone up in the city because the people didn't trust the Titans and thought they weren't there to protect the people. He took a firm fighting stance and drew a collapsible bow staff from his belt. With the push of a button it extended into a 5 foot pole and he pointed it at the man.

"I never give up," Robin said with determination. He let out a terrifying war cry and he lunged at the man stabbing wildly with the end of his staff yelling on each strike. He was trying to land a shot and find an opening but to his surprise this man was athletic and nimble. He was quick and dodged every jab Robin threw before catching the staff with his free hand and lunged at Robin with the other that held the knife.

Robin leaned back as far as his flexibility would allow and the blade shot past him right above his face. He let go of his staff with his left arm and grabbed the inner side his opponent's wrist. Twisting it to its limit, he turned his hips to put his body weight's leverage into the force of his left arm.

The man cried in pain as his arm was twisted unnaturally. He dropped the knife to reduce the pain. Seeing the knife was no longer a threat, Robin let go of his staff with his other hand and reached under the arm he still had in his grasp and gripped the man's twisted wrist on the other side. With both hands gripping tightly, he stepped in towards the man's body with his back to him and used the full force of his strength to throw the man over his shoulder with a fierce yell. The man went flying and made a perfect arc through the air. His back hit the ground like a belly flop off a diving board making a loud thud. He let out a moan as all the air left his lungs. Robin could see he had knocked the wind out of him.

Robin Let go of the mans twisted arm and backed away towards two females cowering in the alley. He stood firm in between them and the criminal. Robin grew a small smile on his face. He missed this rush. The feeling of beating a evil man with his bare hands brought him a surreal feeling of satisfaction. However, the man still held on to Robins staff. He took in a huge gasp of air and jumped to his feet. Now he had a psychotic rage burning in his eyes.

The mad man lifted the staff over his right shoulder like a baseball bat and started charging at Robin. Robin stood like a rock. Unflinching, calm, collected. Just as the man swung the staff at robins face, Robin lept to his right jumping over the swing of the staff. He pushed off the wall of the building next to him with all his anger and strength straight at the man's face. He moved in so fast the man didn't have time to react and Robin's left leg extended with force as he let out a ravaging final war cry. His heel went right into the man's left temple and sent the man's head flying into the wall opposite of the one he pushed off of. Robin landed in a wide but balanced stance leaning forward with one hand touching the ground in front of him. He looked ready to strike again.

After taking Robin's vicious kick, followed by smashing his head against the wall, the criminal tumbled face first into the pavement of the alley. He was out cold.

"You won't be needing any money where you're going," Robin said with victory behind his voice.

He turned to see the woman on her knees hugging her toddler with tears in her eyes as her daughter cried into her shoulder. The woman was clearly still in shock. Robin remembered why he was out here. He needed to win back the trust of the people.

He started to step towards them when the woman flinched and stood up pushing her daughter behind her.

"Not a step closer!" she yelled finally snapping back to reality. Though, her shock could have been causing her to act irrationally.

Robin stopped in his tracks confused. He just saved this woman. Why was she being so hostile towards him?

He raised his hands gently showing he meant no harm, "easy... It's ok," he said calmly, "he can't hurt you anymore."

"It's not _him_ I'm worried about," she said with terror, "you're not going to take my child from me!"

Robin's face went to utter baffled confusion with an eyebrow raised so high it hurt his face.

"Huh?" He said outloud, "why would think I'm here for your child?"

"Its all over the news!" She responded, "last night you and your little friends went out and took some girl from her home!"

"What?" Robin was still confused, "what are you talking about?" He was trying to remain calm. He thought there _had _to be an explanation for this.

The woman could hear he genuinely didn't have any idea what she was talking about. Her face relaxed and started to question what she saw on the news.

"Then... you _didn't_ kidnap that girl?" She asked. Her face was beginning to relax from the shock and she finally began to realize that Robin had just saved her from a mugging and he was no threat to her or her child.

"No! Absolutely not." Robin was trying his best to remain civil but this was ridiculous and it was starting to make him panic. _What is going on?! _He thought to himself.


	25. Past VS Present

**A/N: To all my readers, thanks! I love your reviews. It makes me so happy to see you guys so animated by my story. A lot of you are so freakin smart, I swear! You can see the story before I even have it written down lol**** So this chapter is from Terra and her families point of view after Terra came back from the Tower the previous night. So incase you're wondering were jumping back and forth a little. I hope you guys like it! If you find something's off please leave a review so I can fix it! Thanks!**

It was nearly 1:00AM and Terra had to sneak back into her adopted families house after sneaking out to go talk to the Teen Titans. She got the answers she so desperately wanted about her forgotten past. However, the answers were not exactly satisfying. She felt even worse now, knowing she was a crazed villain who took over the city after being manipulated by Slade.

She eased the door shut with her left hand, using her right shoulder to apply counter pressure so it shut slowly but smoothly. She hung up her rain coat on the coat rack next to the door and turned to lock the door. After locking the door with a silent click she let out a small sigh of relief knowing she made it without waking anyone up. Or... so she thought.

She removed her muddy boots from the storm and placed them next to all the other shoes not currently being used. Terra then tip-toed her way to the bottom of the staircase and slowly stepped on each stair to avoid making any loud creaks in the hard wood floor the stairs were made of. Once she reached the top of the staircase she moved quickly to her room and shut the door behind her softly. She just wanted to get back in her room as fast as possible at this point. She put her right ear flat against the door and listened if anyone had woken up from her quick movement to her room. Nothing but silence returned to her.

Feeling satisfied, Terra turned towards her bed and walked across the room. She spun to her back as she flopped herself down on to her bed to stare up at the ceiling. She was exhausted and had A LOT of new information about her past to process.

She removed her sling from the back of her neck and placed it on the nightstand next to her bed and looked at her arm in its solid cast. So much has happened. It was almost hard to believe. The moonlight started to peak through the fading clouds of the now past storm and shined through the blinds of her window, lighting up her face. She turned to look at glowing orb in the sky. It gave her some comfort thinking maybe, just like the storm, the worst had come and gone.

As she stared out the window into the night she saw the T-Ship hover over the moon with a faint whirr of an engine like a plane far over head. It darted across the sky in the direction she remembered seeing the other Titans fly. She returned her sight to the ceiling before closing her eyes.

She thought about Beastboy. She hoped he was ok and wished she could take back everything she had done to him. It shocked her that even after everything she did he still cared and wanted to help her however he could. This made the pain sting a little more. She knew she didn't deserve a friend like him.

Terra fell into a deep sleep. Her dream of that unfortunate day returned, only this time she could recognize the rest of the shadows in her dream. At least... all but one. The Titans surrounded her begging her not to strike down Beastboy right in front of their eyes. She could see their faces. She could hear their voices. There was no doubt she was the villain in this picture. But when she turned to strike at whomever she knew was the real villain, she saw it was still just a shadow. A figure of a man trying to control her every move.

She woke up with a startled surprise to her alarm clock. She hadn't woken up to her alarm since Beastboy last spoke to her at her school. She switched it off and looked at the time. It read 6:30AM. She remembered this was her first day going back to school since the incident and she had an hour and a half to get ready before school started.

Terra rolled out of bed and let out a yawn with a long stretch. She didn't get much sleep but at this point she was getting used to it. She walked out of her room across the hallway and into the shared bathroom that she had all to herself. She got undressed, took a quick 10 minute shower, wrapped her towel around her budding chest and let the remainder of it fall like a dress covering the rest of her body down to her thighs.

She walked back across the hall to her room and closed the door behind her. She took the towel off her body and wrapped it around her long blonde hair to dry it faster. In her closet were multiple school uniforms she could wear throughout the week. She picked a fresh school uniform from her closet and got dressed.

Terra made her way down to the kitchen where she found her adopted father eating biscuits and gravy for breakfast. He had a news paper on the table infront of him and her adopted mother was at the stove making more breakfast for her. They both looked to Terra and smiled.

"Hey, there's my tough little trooper!" Her dad said excited to see her up and about.

"Goodmorning sweetie," her mother chimed in, "how'd you sleep?" She was doing a good job of covering up her disappointment as she already knew the answer to that question.

"I actually slept... fine," Terra knew she didn't get a good night sleep but it was still better than before. She also didn't want to seem suspicious so she played it off as best she could, "my arms still a little tender though."

"It's only been two weeks," her father respond, "It'll get better," his smile was warm and comforting. He really wanted her to be at ease after all this.

"I know," Terra said shaking it off. She head towards the table and sat adjacent to her father and waited for her mother to place breakfast in front of her.

A few minutes of silence pass and her mother brought a plate with bacon, eggs, and fruit at her seat before sitting next to her across the table from her husband. Terra was actually excited about this breakfast. After two weeks in the hospital she was craving real food. Not the knock-off hospital food they serve the patients. She grabbed her fork began digging in with her one good hand and started chewing aggressively.

"Hungry huh?" Her dad said with a chuckle.

"Sweetie, slow down," her mother said with care, "you'll choke."

"Oh come on, Linds," Carver said playfully, "she's survived way worse. Besides it's her first meal at home in a while. She can be a little sloppy just this once."

Lindsey looked at carver who had a smile on his face. She felt like he thought everything that just happened was just a big joke. She returned a fake smile and brushed it off while sipping on coffee she made earlier. After a moment of silence, aside from Terra's chewing, Lindsey spoke up.

"Honey, I have some errands to run today," she lied, "think you can drop Terra off at school on your way to work?"

Carver looked up at his wife and thought nothing of it. She really would occasionally have days where she had to run errands. Carver looked at Terra who was just about finished eating.

"How 'bout it? Think I should give you a ride today?" He teased.

Terra still had food stuffed in her mouth but she still worked up a smile and nod her head.

Everything seemed back to normal. Just the way the family would always behave on an early morning of a school day. They really were a picture perfect family.

The clock on the wall of the kitchens dinning room read 7:15AM and it was a half hour drive to Terra's school with the city traffic. Carver stood up and looked down at Terra finishing the last of her fruit.

"Ready kiddo?" He asked.

Terra took one last drink of her glass of water and looked back up at her dad.

"Yep!" She seemed really optimistic about the day. Like things might get better soon. She grabbed her backpack and through it over her left shoulder and walked out the front door her father held open for her, "bye mama!" She shouted before the door closed.

Lindsey smiled and waved at the door as it closed. Her fake smile disappeared and she thought about what Melissa said the previous night over the phone...

_I want you to be the face of this movement. Your child was severely injured by the Titans and now she's sneaking out to go see them? That seems suspicious doesn't it? She could get hurt even worse._

Lindsey didn't want to be the face of whatever movement Melissa had planned. She just wanted to Terra to stay away from the Titans.

_But if you want to make sure Terra doesn't end up further injured or, worse yet, killed... then we need a probable cause to file a legal action. So I propose we file an accusation of kidnapping_. _An investigation will have to take place but while it is we can file a restraining order and have it pushed through quickly._

Lindsey didn't like this idea but it would be a nail in the coffin to get them to stay away from Terra. She felt she had no choice.

_Come by city hall tomorrow morning at 10:30. I'm holding a conference out front with a small group of parents who feel the same way you do. With your help we can get some strong support to get the ball rolling and have the Titans cease all "hero" activities immediately. With any luck, the publicity could help push through the restraining order in the same day ._

Lindsey liked the sound of that. It would force the Titans to stay away from her daughter completely. If it was her only option that's what she'd do.

Terra sat in the passenger seat as Carver was car driving her to school. They had the radio playing quietly and for the first few minutes it was a bit of an awkward silence between them as a small amount of tension filled the car.

"So..." Carver said breaking the silence, "is there anything you wanna tell me?"

Terra looked at him and her eyes went wide. He only ever said that to her when she had done something wrong, or lied, or was hiding something and he always got it out of her one way or another.

"It's ok," Carver said trying to get her to relax, "I'm not mad... but I want you to tell me the truth."

"How'd... I thought..." Terra stumbled over her sentences trying not to let anything slip out.

"Terra, I could see your fresh mud tracks on the rug this morning," he said as if it couldn't have been more obviois, "and your coat was drenched."

Terra felt like a stone wall hit her in the face. How could she have forgot to clean up after she came inside from walking through the soaked field with Robin and Cyborg.

"I'm sorry," she sighed, "I uh... I kinda went to go see... the... Teen Titans?" She sounded like she just broke a law and was confessing in court.

"Really?" Carver said slightly shocked, "I guess they did say they knew you," he paused and thought about that for a second, "well... the old you," He sounded like he completely understood. As if he would have encouraged her to go see them at some point, "so what'd they say?"

Terra was stuck... How was she about to tell her father she was an apprentice to the city's worst criminal mastermind? How she almost destroyed the city. How she almost killed the Teen Titans, the very people who saved her life a couple weeks ago?

"I... really don't wanna talk about it," she said shamefully and she turned her head to look out the window of the moving car. It broke her heart now that she thought about it. She thought now maybe it was better not knowing any of it.

Carver looked over to see his adopted child struggling again. She went from a optimistic and enthusiastic girl to a depressed and broken young woman just in the duration of their small car ride. Carver was worried. Maybe Lindsay's feeling towards the Titans had some truth behind them after all.

"Did they hurt you?" Carver asked bluntly. He was starting to take the role of the over protective father.

"No! No no no. Nothing like that." Terra immediately respond trying to clarify, "but they told me something about myself that I'm having a hard time... accepting," Terra knew what the titans hand told her was true but deep down she didn't want it to be.

"So what Robin said was true then?" He asked with a little excitement, "you _were _a Teen Titan?"

"Sorta," Terra said trying to figure out how to explain this, "but I... gave it all up," her voice made it obvious that what it wasn't a good thing.

"Did they at least know why the first thing you could remember was waking up in that cave?" Carver asked trying to get some answers.

Terra was quiet. She knew that if she answered that honestly she'd have no choice but to tell her dad everything and she didn't know how he was going to take it.

"Um..." She didn't know what to do at this point. It seemed like she was in a lose-lose situation: Lie to her father and make it harder on herself or tell him the truth and possibly be disowned by the only family she has.

"Hey," Carver said putting a hand on her shoulder. They had stopped just outside her school and were a little earlier than they expected, "you can tell me anything and I will always love you no matter what. Call me crazy, but I believe we were _meant_ to find you out there that day. Nothing will change the what I think of you," he sounded like he knew it was something painful that Terra was holding back from him. For a first time father, he was doing an amazing job at understanding the mind of a teenage daughter.

Terra teared up and wrapped her good arm around her dad across the car. She felt she truly did have a father. Not just a guardian or someone that took her in. A real father. As if he raised her from a little girl.

"I..." She paused wondering if this was a good idea, "I was a bad person," Terra began sobbing into her fathers chest, "I was such a terrible person!" Her sobs grew stronger and she started to gasp for air in between every two or three of them, "I hurt the only friends I had and I... I... I almost destroyed the entire city!" She lost it.

Accepting the truth of her forgotten past was more painful than all her current wounds. Her broken arm... Her cracked ribs... They were nothing compared to the pain she felt now. Terra was so upset and broken that she wanted to end it all. She didn't want to live with what she knew about herself now.

Carver sat there for a second in shock. He couldn't even fathom the idea of this beautiful gentle soul ever harming anyone let alone being capable of destroying a city. If it weren't for her balling so hard into his chest he would have thought she was kidding. He wrapped his arms around her and squeezed her tightly but remembered her injuries were not yet fully healed and decided to hold her gently.

"Sweetie..." He began trying to console her, "don't you see what this means?" He sounded kind and caring like he meant every word he was about to say.

Terra sat up still sobbing and started wiping the tears from her eyes as she looked up at carver ready to hear the worst. She looked at him and shook her head not knowing what he meant.

"It means you _are _a good person," he saw Terra's face look unconvinced and began to explain, "who ever you were in your past... that's not you _now_. And you don't want to be that person anymore anyways. Look at how you're reacting to this," he pointed to her tears still streaming down her face, "you really think a terrible person would feel the way you do right now?" He smiled at her knowing fully well Terra was not some monster her past portrayed her as, "as far as I'm concerned your mom and I, and this _whole_ city is lucky to have who you are _now."_

Terra grew a smile but continued to sob in the passenger seat. Hse leaned towards Carver once more and he held her close again.

After a long moment of silence Terra's tears began to slow to a stop and her sobs faded away as she thought about what her dad said. He was right. Whoever she was in the past isn't who she is now. She knew she was a good person. She knew she had a lot to offer this world. Now she could see she's been given a second chance at life and there's no way she was going to waste it by making the same mistakes twice. Whether she could remember them or not.


	26. Justice?

**A/N: Welcome back to all my readers and those of you that are new I thank you for reading! Today's chapter is a little short, but it is definitely a big part of this story. If you guys like what you read please give me a review to keep me going! If you drop a fav or follow it's always appreciated! I just wanna say I never expected to get 30 people reading my story. That truly is amazing to me. Thank you so much! I hope you enjoy!**

The school bell rang and Terra took a deep breath and recomposed herself. She wiped her face one last time and blew her nose with the portable tissues her father kept in the glove compartment and turned to face Carver one more time as she got out of the car.

"Thank you," Terra said heavy with emotion, "I love you dad," she said as she held the door open before heading to class.

"I love you more sweetheart," Carver replied with all his heart.

Terra gave him a very warm smile. She shut the door and turned to head to class throwing her pack over her good shoulder.

Carver smiled back as she walked away. However, he was filled with a mixture of emotions. Had he been harbouring a fugitive this whole time? Was she really someone he could trust? The rest of his drive to work he battled his own mind. He loved her dearly. But he really knew absolutely nothing about her.

_No. _He thought to himself. _She's my daughter. She's not evil. She's not dangerous. She's kind. She's loving. No matter what she's done in the past, that doesn't define her now. _

Carver made up his mind. He would protect this girl no matter what the cost. She's suffered enough. In her lost past as well as her new future.

Lindsey was on her way to City Hall. Melissa's words swayed her to do things she didn't like in order to protect her daughter. She only wanted her safety and nothing more. If it meant lying and playing along in some stupid movement it would be a small price to her.

Lindsey had shown up early to make sure she could catch Melissa before her "confrence" began. She hoped she could speak with her about what her intentions were Before doing something she'd regret.

The sun was on its way to its peak. The time was 10:15AM and the day continued to grow nicer. City hall had a decent sized crowd in front of its steps waiting for, whatever this event was, to begin. This took her by surprise she was expecting a small group of maybe 20 people, not the hundreds that stood before her.

"Lindsey?" Melissa said walking away from the crowd in front of the stairs to city hall, "Lindsey Carver?"

Lindsey turned her head to face the voice calling her name. She recognized her face from the hospital and nod her head confirming she indeed was Lindsey Carver.

"Oh I'm so glad you could make it!" Melissa said excited, "this is a much better turn out than I'd expected," she turned back to the crowd of at least 100 people. There was such a commotion that even news trucks and reporters stood in front of cameras getting the event broadcast. Melissa turned back to Lindsey with a devious smile, "looks like we might get what we both want today."

Lindsey wasn't sure about this anymore. She didn't like the way that sounded.

"What do you mean?" She asked defensively, "I just want to ensure my little girl won't be tormented by those... Titans anymore," she didn't like saying their name.

"Rest assured!" Melissa spoke up, "we'll have those teens on the run! They wont be able to torment _anyone_ anymore."

The clock tower above the building of city hall rang with a short gong only once, signifying it was half past the hour. Melissa turned to the crowd and grew a long grin.

"It's time," she said to Lindsey, "come up with me and let's get some justice."

Lindsey was still unsure about this but she felt she had come this far. She might as well see it through.

The two women walked up to a small podium with microphones for all news outlets on top of it along with microphones connected to a PA system. Melissa tapped on the microphones to test if they were active. A low thud echoed out of the PA system alerting the audience that the event was about to begin.

"Citizens of jump city," Melissa started, "I come to you as a concerned citizen myself. For too long have we kept our heads down as our precious city is destroyed over and over. For too long have we allowed those responsible for these damages get away with their actions with no punishment. Today we stand together as a people who have had enough! We all saw how the Teen Titans destroyed the city countless times. We all saw just a few weeks ago how they sent multiple innocent children to the hospital. Where are they now? In their Tower still free to roam the city. Still free to do whatever they please. Every single time this city was nearly destroyed by some mad person who do you think their real target was? I stand here to tell you blatant truth that no one else will. It was not you that were the targets of this reckless violence. It was not _us _they wanted to destroy. It was the Teen Titans! All of the problems we have had to endure have been their doing! We just happened to be innocent bystandards caught in the crossfire. Enough is enough!" The crowd was eating out of Melissa's hand. She spoke with a fierce determination that could make anyone believe anything she said. Melissa paused for a moment to let her words sink in before she continued again, "I stand before you with terrifying news," she said softly with sympathy. She turned and motioned her hand with an open outstretched palm to Linsey who stood behind her, "this brave young woman is the mother of the child who had nearly lost her life at the hands of the Titans two weeks ago. And now she is also the mother of a kidnapped child!" The crowd gasped and starting murmuring to one another, "Yes! The Titans not only almost killed her child, but they also took her in the night last night! The very first night she had in her own home after they nearly killed her!" The crowd grew angry as Melissa spoke. If this was really true then they had a much bigger problem than they had originally thought, "Fellow citizens, I'm not only relieved, but I am overjoyed to say the girl is back home and is safe. She managed to escape the Titans and found her way home. But I ask you, what if your child is next? Will you simply stand by as the Titans take everything we love and care about? Will you stand by as they destroy our beloved city? Or will you fight back and have them removed from our lives and leave us in peace?!"

The crowd roared in agreement. They completely believed everything this woman was saying. They believed that Teen Titans were the whole reason villains and criminals kept attacking their city. It was just a way to get to the Titans. If they weren't there then maybe these villains wouldn't be attacking all the time. But worst of all they believed that the Titans were child abductors.

At the school the bell rang notifying the students it was time for lunch. Terra was walking down the hallway to the cafeteria when she noticed she was getting a lot of looks from her classmates. It made her feel unbelievably uncomfortable. She thought maybe everyone had found out her past and were giving her dirty looks.

_No._ _There's no way. _Terra thought to herself. _The only ones who know are me my dad and the Titans. They would never say anything to anyone..._

"Terra!" Her friends called together as she enter the cafeteria. Her friends were just as protective as ever. Just as they were when Beastboy had first approached her.

"Oh my gosh!" Her brunette friend Claire had said, "I can't believe you got away!"

Terra looked at her with a completely confused look, "got away... from what?" She asked.

"What do you mean 'from what'?!" Claire cried out, "from the Teen Titans!"

Terra's heart lept out of her chest. How did they know she fought the Titans so long ago? Did the others really tell everyone?!

A dark toned girl named Jenae stood next to Claire, "how did you escape them last night?!" She asked. The pair were Terra's best friends.

"Last night?" Terra sounded even more confused.

Her friends stared at her with a great amount of concern. They looked at Terra like she was lucky to be alive. But she had no idea what they were talking about. They looked at each other and grabbed Terra's hand a dragged her through the school's cafeteria to the one TV that hung in the corner of the room.

Terra starred up at the TV to see the news playing a clip of what was being called a "protest ralley" out in front of city hall. The caption across the TV read:_Titans Allegedly Abduct Student From Home Late Last Night._

"That's your mom right?" Claire said pointing the screen where a woman stood behind the podium.

Terra's face went red with rage. Now she knew why she was getting so many looks. Everyone thought she was a kidnap victim. She couldn't believe her mother would go to these lengths to get the Titans away from her.

"I can't believe you came to school after that," Jenae said looking at Terra in amazement.

Terra couldn't speak. She was furious beyond comprehension. She felt she had nothing to say to anyone except her mother. And it wasn't gonna be pretty.

Terra stormed out of the cafeteria and her friends started to follow her. She got to the doors and threw them open in a fury. Her friends stopped at the door in shock as to how Terra was reacting. At that moment they realized there was a lot more to this than they knew.

Terra began sprinting home. She had one thing on her mind and she would stop at nothing to make sure she got her message across. Her message was simple. Terra might not be a villain like her past. But in her preaent, her mother was the true villain.


	27. The Apprentice

**A/N: Sorry this chapter took a little bit longer to write. It kinda hit home really hard for me. So I hope it's decent enough for publishing. Please leave me a review to help better my writing and make this story as best as possible. Thank you all for following and favoriting. It means more than you know. Heads up on the next chapter... It might take a little longer seeing as how there is A LOT of ideas I have for it and I'm not entirely sure how I'm going to put it on paper. I hope you enjoy!**

Terra was still running home. Her house was 5 miles away and her lungs were on fire as her body ached from her injuries. But she didn't care. She was on a mission. Her mother had to pay for what she did. For using her as a way to frame the Titans.

The sun had passed its peak in the sky and was beginning its descent to the horizon. It was nearly 1:30PM when she began closing in on her home. She was drenched in sweat. Though she couldn't tell if it was because of how angry she was or from all the running she had just done. But something caught her eye that slowed her run to a walk.

As she got closer she noticed her father's car in the driveway. _What is he doing here? He doesn't get off work until 5. He shouldn't have been home for at least a couple more hours. _She thought to herself.

Terra continued to catch her breath walking slowly to the door her eyes fixed on the car in the driveway. The closer she got to the door the more she could realize what was happening.

Faint shouts could be heard through the door. She had never heard her parents argue or fight before. They were like the perfect couple. Unbreakable. Built on trust and devotion. The only thing that could have caused a fight like this was something beyond serious.

Terra got closer and her heavy breathing finally started to slow. She silently grabbed the door handle and cracked the door open just a enough to hear her parents more clearly across the room. The screams were so loud is was as if she was standing in front of them.

"What were you thinking?!" Carver yelled, "Do you have any idea what this could do to the entire city?!?!"

"I had to do something!" Lindsey yelled, "You've been acting like this whole thing was just a big joke! Like it didn't even matter!"

"I have been there the whole time Linds!" Carver shouted, "It's been hell on earth seeing our girl go through this! Don't you dare say this has been nothing to me!"

"Then how could you think this is a bad thing?!" Lindsey retaliated, "I'm doing this to protect our daughter!"

"Protect her?!" Carver's anger grew, "YOU JUST MADE HER A TARGET!"

Lindsey was confused. She didn't know what he meant by this, "A target?" She asked, "A target to who?"

"Are you serious Linds?!" Carver screamed, "Think about it! If the Teen Titans would go to lengths like 'abducting' our daughter then people, _powerful people_, are going to do some digging and try to figure out why!"

"So what?!" Lindsey shouted, "Our daughter hasn't done anything wrong! She's innocent!"

Carver was about to yell again but before he could the front door flew open and slammed against the wall.

"NO I'M NOT!" Terra raised her voice so loud she made her parents sound like whispers.

Her parents heads whipped around to the door to see their adopted daughter standing in the doorway. She was still breathing hard to catch her breath but it was slow enough to speak without interruption.

"You don't know anything about me!" Terra screamed at her mother, "You have no idea the things I've done!"

Lindsey's went cold. Her daughter and her husband were against her. She felt alone. She felt betrayed. Like no one was grateful for her actions to try to protect the ones she loved.

Carver sighed and walked over to Terra. He was about to put a hand on her shoulder but Terra swat it away still furious with her mother. She marched past her father straight to the kitchen where Lindsey stood frozen.

"You. Don't. Know. Anything," Terra said lowering her voice. She had a fire in her eyes that rivalled the intensity of the sun, "the Teen Titans saved me. They saved _you_," she said sternly, "and if you must know, _Lindsey," _Terra said her name as if cursing it, "they saved you..." She raised voice violently, "FROM _ME__!!!_" Terra's voice was so loud it shook the room as she pointed a thumb from her left hand at her chest. She was leaning forward as if sending her voice at Lindsey like a cannon firing a cannonball.

The outburst from Terra caused Lindsey's legs to buckle and she caught herself on a chair at the kitchen table. She sat down slowly. Terra had never acted this way before and Lindsey was horrified by her.

Caver jumped from Terra's scream. He walked up behind Terra and was about to hold her until Terra spoke up again.

"You wanna know why I snuck out last night to go see them?" Terra asked aggressively, "I knew they could help give me the answers I was looking for. I knew they had something to do with my past. And you wanna know what I learned from them?!"

Lindsey put her elbows on the kitchen table and laid her head down in her hands. She couldn't believe this was happening. She was sure the Titans were the reason she was acting so strangely aggressive towards her.

"Terra," Carver said putting his hands on her shoulders, "you don't have to-"

Terra shrugged off his hands and interrupted him, "No! She has to know!"

Lindsey looked up from her hands at Terra. She saw tears in Terra's eyes. Lindsey began to see she made a horrible mistake. Whatever was going on, she was starting to see the Titans had nothing to do with it.

"About a year ago... A criminal named Slade took over the city with his apprentice. Do you remember?" Terra sounded as if she were interrogating her own mother.

Lindsey nod her head. She remembered clearly. The entire city had been evacuated as an army of robots lead by a maniacal teen with strange powers marched through the streets reeking havoc.

Terra's eyes started to let tears roll down her cheeks. She was still struggling with the fact she was the one who caused all of that pain.

"It was me," Terra said fighting to force the words out of herself, "I'm the apprentice," Terra clenched her jaw holding back the tears hadn't escaped yet, "You're precious 'innocent' daughter is a criminal and a murderer!"

Lindsey's eye's went wide. She now understood why Carver had been so furious. She really did paint a target on her own daughter's back. If anyone else knew about this they'd be out to lock her up for good.

"How long have you known about this?!" Lindsey said to Carver angry that he hadn't told her.

"I just found out this morning when I took her to school," Carver said calmly.

It was all out there now. Nothing else to hide. Everyone was now part of this game. This battle for peace.

"Well... How do we know the Titans aren't just making all this up to cover up their own mistakes?!" Lindsey said trying to keep the blame pinned on the Titans.

"Oh shut up mom!" Terra said angrily. She knew it was true. Her dreams and the Titans stories couldn't have matched up so perfectly just by coincidence, "I know its true," Terra said with confidence. She paused and looked down as tears started to flow down her cheeks with strength. Terra sighed and said the words she had longed so badly to say... but now they haunted her, "I remember."

Lindsey sat in silence taking in everything she just heard. She still couldn't believe it. But now she felt she made a horrible mistake and now Terra's life was more at risk than ever. She couldn't take it. She broke down and dropped her head to the table wrapped in her arms and broke down sobbing. Everything she thought she was doing for her daughters sake was all wrong. She was wrong. Everything she had done wasn't for Terra's own good. It was for her's. It was for her own selfish intent to keep Terra safe. To keep Terra all to herself. Now she feared she was going to lose the only girl she ever had as a daughter forever. All because of her own actions.

Carver put a hand on Terra's shoulder. Terra was still fighting back her tears but seeing her adopted mother cry relentlessly in front of her made it 10 times harder. She had accomplished her mission. She hurt her mother. Shattered her heart. But for some reason... it didn't bring her the satisfaction she had hoped for. Terra spun around and wrapped her left arm around her father and cried again just as she did in the car earlier that day.

Carver wrapped one arm around her and walked her to the table where Lindsey sobbed and put his other arm around his wife. This family was broken. It was the first time their family found themselves at war with each other. Tensions couldn't have been worse between them at this point. It would take more than time to heal these fresh new wounds.

Terra came to the realization that the worst was not yet behind her. It had still yet to come.


	28. Criminals

**A/N: Hey everyone, thanks for waiting on this one. It was extremely difficult deciding what direction I wanted to go on this chapter. But now that I have I'm really excited to see where it goes! As always, please leave me a review, fav, or follow and let me know how I'm doing! Hope you all enjoy! Thanks for reading!**

The sun was setting over Jump City nearly reaching the horizon. The city's buildings began to slowly illuminate with light anticipating the coming darkness. The darkness that encouraged the worst in people now that they had more freedom to whatever they wanted without fear of the Titans showing up to stop them.

The Titans continued their mission to regain the cities trust. Robin had alerted authorities about the mugger he had tied up and left restrained on the street for police to pick up. But after hearing the woman he saved talk about what was being spread around the city he returned to his R-Cycle and sped away before they came to arrest the mugger. He didn't want to know what the police might do if this was what the people were saying about them. He began to worry that their time in the city might be making things worse.

"Titans, report!" Robin relayed through his communicator, "what's your status?"

"Oh you know," Cyborg replied instantly with sarcasm, "it's been quiet, fun, and... oh yeah... SOME OLD LADY BEAT ME OVER THE HEAD WITH HER CANE!" His voice nearly jumped out of the communicator into Robins ear. He was furious.

"I too have encountered the unpleasant behavior of the people," Starfire said heartbroken, "they believed I wished to steal a small child."

"Hey, yeah!!!" Cyborg said sympathizing with her, "granny thought we were all kidnappers!"

"Be careful," Robin said nervously, "something happened recently that has the city on edge and all eyes are on us," he started to think that it might be a good idea to abort the mission and regroup to figure out what was going on. This upset him. All he wanted was to be seen in public trying to help people. To get his honor back as a hero. But with the way things are at the moment it didn't seem possible, "Titans, we might need to regroup and figure out what's going on before we can continue our mission."

"Don't have to tell me twice," Cyborg said eager to get out of the city and go home.

"I do not wish to continue as well," Starfire said. She sounded as if she meant she didn't want to be a hero anymore.

"Uh..." Raven said feeling the timing couldn't be worse, "you guys might want to rethink that."

Raven was staring at Dr. Light in his usual suit of armor. He stood in front of a bank that had just recently closed; however, the doors along with the front face of the building were in a smoldering heap from him blasting his way in.

"Titans move!" Robin said already understanding what has happening, "regroup on Raven's position!"

Robin hit the break hard and put a single foot down to pivot on as his back tire spun out from under the bike throwing him into a drifting U-turn. Once he faced the direction he wanted, he floored the accelerator and took off in a wheelie before landing it perfectly at full speed.

Cyborg took a hard left turn and also put the pedal to the metal on the T-Car to get to Raven as fast as possible. Starfire flew over the city to get there quickly and found Cyborg in the T-Car on her way. She met up with him and flew above him. Cyborg looked up and they made eye contact feeling better that they had real trouble to deal with and not these trivial errands.

"With the Titans gone, no one would dare face Dr. Light!" Dr. Light said confidently.

Raven flew down behind him and raised her hands towards him, "you sure about that?" She said in her dark tone. Dr. Light turned around to see Raven, "remember me?"

Fear over took his body and he had a moment of panic. He looked around to see she was alone and his fear fade away.

"How could I forget?" He asked Rehtorically, "you would dare face Dr. Light alone?" He said regaining his confidence, "this time my light will erase your darkness!"

He raised his hands and fired a powerful stream of light from his hands. Raven reacted quickly and formed a shield of dark energy in front of her blocking the powerful beam of light. She then streched out her right hand covering a near by abandoned taxi in her dark energy. She began to lift it but then rembered what robin said.

_No damage to the city or people._

She looked at Dr. Light then back at the taxi and gently set the car down. Dr. Light took advantage of her distraction and shot again.

This time Raven took the blast directly with a cry of pain and was sent through air across the street tumbling across the ground. She strained as she began to pull herself up from the ground. She looked up to see Dr. Light standing over her with a sinister smile.

"What's the matter?" Dr. Light mocked, "afraid to get your hands dirty?" He raised his hands again ready to strike her where she lay.

A bright flash of light scorched Ravens sight but to her surprise she wasnt hurt. She looked up to see Dr. Light was no longer standing in front of her. He was blindsided and thrown through air hitting the ground in the distance.

"Booyah!!!" Cyborg yelled lowering his sonic cannon. He stood next to Raven as Starfire helped her to her feet.

"Raven, are you injured?" Starfire asked.

"I'm fine," Raven replied rubbing the elbow she landed on.

The three turned their focus to Dr. Light and stood ready to fight. Starfire hovered above the ground behind Cyborg and Raven. Her eyes glowed green and starbolts glowed around her hands. Cyborg raised his sonic cannon back to Dr. Light focused with determination. They were both in need to relieve some stress from their day.

Raven put her hood up covering her face. From the darkness under her hood her eyes glowed white ready to unleash her power.

Dr. Light got nervous seeing the Titans numbers growing in force. He got back to his feet and leaned forward at the them with his chest out. His armor surged with power and shot a massive blast of energy from the center piece of his armor in the center of his chest letting out a fierce yell.

Starfire flew straight up to avoid the strike and Raven threw her cloak over Cyborg. Her entire body went black and she vanished into the ground with Cyborg before the blast could hit them.

Starfire let out a quick flurry of starbolts from the air above Dr. Light crying out in anger with each shot. She made sure her blasts couldn't hit anything but her target or the ground near him.

Even though they were in the heat of battle they still had their mission in the back of their minds. No damage. To city or the people.

Dr. Light anticipated the starbolts coming at him and surrounded himself in an orb of light shielding him from any damage.

"You're gonna need to fire something brighter than that to stop the power of Dr. Light!" He laughed. He felt a strange presence behind him as his shield went down. A prepresence he remembered well.

A large dark figure emerged from the ground and had glowing white eyes in the shape of a raven. The dark energy of this figure expanded like a cloak being thrown open and Cyborg emerged from the darkness and the dark energy faded leaving Raven in her natural form.

"Then how about we turn up the volume?!" Cyborg said with his cannon pointed at Dr. Lights face.

Dr. Light reacted in time thanks to feeling the dark presence earlier and fired his right arms light cannon back at Cyborg.

The two blasts struck each other in mid air causing a chain reaction that detonated a massive explosion sending all of them flying. Raven landed against a near by building knocking the air out her. She wailed in pain while Cyborg cried out as he hit the taxi she was planning on tossing earlier, caving in the driver side door.

_Of course..._ She thought to herself annoyed.

Starfire was sent tumbling higher into the air over the battlefield as the blast sent her soaring. After spinning head over heels a few times she regained control over her flight pattern and looked down to see what happened. Starfire flew over to her friends to help them with their injuries but by the time she got to them they were already getting to their feet ready for another round. They started walking towards Dr. Light cautiously. Expecting anything from their opponent on the ground.

Dr. Light hit ground in the opposite direction of the Titans bouncing three times before sliding to a stop. He rose to his feet with anger, "I'm not going down that easy!" He exclaimed, "Dr. Light will-"

He was interrupted by the high pitched roar of an engine flying over his head. Robin used a large piece of the destroyed banks rubble as a ramp to get airborne and spring into action. The R-Cycle came crashing down without a rider and Dr. Light looked up to where the bike was just above him too see Robin coming straight down at him.

Dr. Light react quickly and fired a short blast from his chest piece. straight at Robin. Robin yelled as he took the blast head on since he couldn't dodge in mid air. As he was sent back up into the air he threw a circular disc at his enemy. It detonated on the ground directly beneath him knocking him to his knees.

Robin did an acrobatic flip through the air and landed on his feet on the other side of Dr. Light from his friends who drew closer to the fight ready to back up their leader. They had Dr. Light surrounded.

"It's over Light," Robin said with confidence, "just give it up."

Dr. Light stood back up and looked at the four Titans. He had taken all five of them once before at the North pole. He thought he could take four no problem.

"Never underestimate the power of light!" He yelled as he threw down his hands at the ground. A huge blast of blinding light explode out in every direction. This took the Titans by surprise. They were unable to see for a moment.

Taking advantage of this moment Dr. Light stepped up into Cyborg within the blink of an eye and sent a fist backed with power from his suit into Cyborg's jaw. Cyborg let out a quick cry of pain as he was sent sliding on his heels slamming against the building Raven had hit earlier.

He turned to Raven who was just starting to regain her sight. He moved in quickly yet again but before his strike landed on Raven, Dr. Light was knocked of his feet with a powerful amount of force and went tumbling across the ground slinding to a stop at Robins feet.

Beastboy had taken the form of a green mountain ram and had been sprinting full speed for a while before he found his teammates in the middle of battling a familiar villain. He intended to hit Dr. Light before Cyborg was hit but he only managed to get there in time to save Raven from the follow up strike.

Dr. Light strained as he looked up to see the fierce masked teenager staring down at him.

"Lights out," Robin said with a smirk. He let out a war cry and sent a final fist down at Dr. Light, knocking him out.

Beastboy returned to his normal form and turned towards Cyborg who was on his knees after hitting the building. Beastboy ran over to check on him.

"Cy, are you ok?!" He asked with concern.

Cyborg let out a painful grunt as he got to his feet, "it'll take more than a little light bulb to hurt me," he said with a chuckle.

Raven's sight had fully returned to her just in time to see Beastboy save her from a vicious attack from the villain they faced. She blushed as she watched Beastboy run over to help pick Cyborg up off his knees. She blinked the blush away and walked over to Robin to keep her mind on the task at hand. Trying to not to get distracted.

Starfire also flew over to Robin to help detain the unconcious villain for police to arrest. She jumped up and down clapping her hands, "success!" She cried with joy, "we are victorious!"

Robin smiled at his team. Aside from a pretty damaged car and a half destroyed bank they had saved the city from some seriously fatal damage and kept the people safe. They felt good about themselves. Like things were getting back to normal. But their victory was short lived as police sirens screamed and tires screeched as they pulled up surrounding them. There were at least 10 patrol cars around them blocking there escape in any direction.

"Get your hands in the air, all of you!" One of the officers screamed.

"Dude relax!" Beastboy said in a horrified panic shooting his hands to the sky, "we're on your side!"

"On the ground!," The officer commanded. The Titans all looked to Robin desperate for instructions, "I said on the ground now!"

Robin was frozen in a confused panic as well. They had just stopped a bank robbery from a powerful villain and now _they_ were being arrested? Why? What for?

The sound of guns cocking signaling they were ready to be fired snapped him out of his daze. He nod to the Titans and slowly went to his knees with his hands raised. The others followes his lead.

"You've got to be kidding me," Cyborg muttered under his breath as he lowered his head with his hands up.

"Titans!" The officer in charge shouted loudly and clearly, "you are all under arrest for the attempted murder and kidnapping of Terra Kane," he continued reading them their rights but to the Titans all sound had fade away and the world stood still as they looked at each other in horror. Had they been betrayed again? Was this her plan the whole time? Was she part of this mystery villain's plan like Mad Mod was?

Raven looked at Beastboy. He looked like his soul left him. In that moment he lost the light that Raven had cherished so much in him. Her eyes never left Beastboy's face. But as the police put each of her friends hands into handcuffs Raven's rage started to burn within her once again.

Far above where the battle just took place a figure stood on top of a nearby building looking down on the entire scene. They held a phone to their ear...

_"Thank you for the tip on the Titans location. We appreciate your help in keeping our city safe," _a dispatch officer said over the phone.

"Please... I'm just doing my part," Melissa said in a dark but convincing voice. She closed her flip phone and looked down once more on the Titans being arrested. She cracked an evil smile before turning her back on them and taking her leave.


	29. Sacrifices

**A/N: To all my readers I'm sorry it took a little longer than normal. But this chapter is a little bit longer than I expected. The ideas I have for this story are going to be a little more intense in the upcoming chapters. If I take it too far please let me know so I can address that! Thank you so much for following me on this crazy ride so far. I've been loving your reviews and they keep me going. They mean so much to me! I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

Darkness had fallen on Jump City. Flashes of red and blue filled the street as news trucks and reporters came pouring in behind the police cars. This was a story the media did not want to miss. A sight they've never seen before. The Titans in handcuffs.

These weren't ordinary handcuffs either. They seemed to be electronic. They were just one solid piece with two crescent shapes where human wrists could fit perfectly. They appeared to be made of some kind of solid steel or a mixture of irons that could withstand something like an apocalypse. With just the push of a button the cuffs had a solid rod arc over each wrist turning the crescent shapes into full circles around their wrists. Once the rods locked in place forming an unbreakable seal, a light lit up on the devices with a red glow.

Each Titan had been isolated from each other. They were all leaning against at a different squad car at least 20 feet from any other team member.

Robin's utility belt had been removed from his waist leaving him with no weapons of any kind. His face was filled with rage. He felt he should've known this might be the end game of whoever was pulling the strings against them.

Cyborg had his hands bound in cuffs much larger than the average pair. They swallowed his forearms up to his elbows keeping him from using his cannons. After all... it's not like he could drop his weapons. They were part of his body. He had his head down deep in thought of where they went wrong and why this was happening.

Starfire had a pair of cuffs around her arms like Cyborg. These weren't the same as the ones the Gordanians used on her but very similar... almost stronger. She also held her head low with tears in her eyes. She felt like _a prize_ once again.

Beastboy had a different kind of restraint on him. He had a collar around his neck and a pair of these electronic handcuffs around his wrists. He was told that if he tried to morph or run the collar would send 50,000 volts of electricity into his spine. His eyes showed no sign of life. Like he was completely broken inside. It seemed he lost all hope.

Raven had the same cuffs Beastboy and Robin did. She didn't seem to have any other form restraint on her though. It seemed as if they knew her power was to great to be contained and just hoped for her cooperation. But her eyes still hadn't left Beastboy. She was monitoring him closely. The energy coming off him was... different. It concerned her deeply.

As the police grathered a story from each Titan trying to piece a timeline together from the previous night of Terra's "abduction," they found that all their stories matched up perfectly. Each officer gave the information they recieved from each Titan to the detective in charge of the case. He was a tall and slender man wearing a dark blue collared shirt and long black khaki pants. He has his service pistol tucked into the back of his belt under his untucked shirt. His demeanor was professional and he looked like he'd seen one too many sleepless nights just like Robin.

With the Titans having perfectly matching stories this was going to be very hard for him to make a full and formal arrest on them. It was an ironclad alibi for the Titans. However, the detective was under orders and as much as he thought this was now a waste of time, he felt the need to press them on questions and decided to approach Robin.

"Hello Robin," he said as if greeting an old friend, "my name is Detective Smith. I'm the lead investigator of this case. I'd like to ask you some follow up questions," he sounded professional like he had done this many times before.

Robin looked up at him, made eye contact but then looked back down at the street where their most recent battle had taken place.

"Listen," the detective said sighing in frustration, "I appreciate the work you and your team do for this city, more than anyone. You make our lives here at the JCPD much easier," he paused and looked around. He saw the bank half destroyed and Dr. Light in cuffs in the back of a patrol car nearby. He understood that they were stopping him from robbing this bank and were grateful they succeeded, "but I have to take this seriously," he said looking back to Robin, "if no one holds you accountable to the same laws everyone else is, then what's to stop you from running wild?"

Robin looked up at the detective still ripe with fury, "if you really mean that... Then you already know none of this is true. We _stop_ murderers and kidnappers. We aren't anything like them. Someone set us up."

Through Robin's mask the detective could see the passion and fire in his eye's. He knew Robin and the others were innocent. But orders were orders and if he wanted to keep his job he'd have no choice but to do this case by books like all the others.

The detective sighed and looked down before standing straight up and pulling out his notepad and pen, "what's your name and birthdate?"

Robin looked down at his feet and remained silent. He hadn't told anyone, not even his best friends that information. He wasn't about to tell some stranger.

"I don't wanna have to do this the hard way," the detective said sincerely, "so please... help me, help you. Just answer my questions."

Robin's face grew more aggravated. He was stuck. He didn't know how to handle this situation anymore. They both sat in silence for a long time before the detective finally spoke up once more.

"Alight," he said solemnly, "you leave me no choice," he motioned to two officers nearby and they walked over to where Robin and the detective stood, "remove his mask," he ordered the officers, "we will have to submit a headshot to dispatch for facial recognition."

Robin lifted his head and glared at the detective gritting his teeth. Everything he was and is was about to be spilled out in front of everyone. His face would be all over the news with all these reporters and cameras everywhere.

The officers were about to restrain Robin and remove his mask when they were halted by the screeching of tires coming to a stop behind the police cars. The passenger door was flung open as a ferocious scream echoed through the streets.

"STOP!!!" Terra was sprinting to Robin's defense but she was stopped by the officers before she got to the detective, "what do you think you're doing?!" Terra said as the officers held her back.

The detective looked at her confused. _Who is this girl? _He thought.

"These five have been accused of attempted murder and kidnapping," the detective said regaining his professionalism, "we're detaining them," he explained, "we need their stroy and we have to ID them and bring them in until there's more information we can work with."

Terra stepped back and shook off the police officers who stood in between her and Robin ready to detain her as well, "DO I LOOK DEAD OR KIDDNAPPED?!" She screamed at them. The officers faces went cold almost as if embarrassed, "they saved my life!"

It also dawned on the detective that this young girl in front of them was _the _Terra Kane. Her father, Carver, walked up behind her in support and decided to speak up as well.

"It's true," he said calmly, "my daughter wouldn't be here right now if it weren't for these brave young heroes."

The officers looked at each other as if they were saying _I knew it_ and turned back to the detective for further instruction.

"Who are you?" The detective asked Carver trying to verbally confirm his suspicions.

"My name is Carver Kane," Carver responded putting a hand on Terra's shoulder before she burst out again, "this is my daughter Terra," he raised his voice looking back at the news cameras that were fixed on Robin and the officers, "and as much as the media would have you believe..." He made sure he was loud enough that they could hear him and turned back to the detective, "my daughter was never kidnapped, the truth of the matter is... she is their friend and went to see them of her own free will."

Terra looked up at her father with a glimmer in her eyes. She had never been more proud to call this man her family. She looked back at the detective following her fathers example, "they are innocent," she said calmly, "in fact..." she paused looking back to her father. He looked down at her and knew exactly what she was about to say and his eyes pleaded that she didn't. But Terra felt she had no choice at this point and she sent him a silent apology before looking back at the detective, "in fact, if you're going to arrest anyone... it should be me."

The officers and news crews all started murmuring to each other wondering what she meant.

The Titans eyes all went wide. They knew now Terra wasn't the cause for all of this. She was risking her freedom to save theirs. A similar sacrifice she's made once already.

Beastboy's face reanimated with life as he watched Terra in a trance. He couldn't believe what he just heard and he hated himself for thinking that he had been betrayed again by this girl. He starred at her in awe as if his ears just heard something he never thought he'd hear.

Even Raven's face filled with remorse. She might not have liked Terra but Terra really was a good person and she was defending them as best she could at the moment. Raven lowered her head as she filled with sadness.

Terra looked at the others and she knew what she had to do she walked to the center of the street where all the Titans now surrounded her in their restraints. She turned to the camera crews and began shouting.

"Hey!" She shouted gaining their full attention, "why don't you get this on camera?!" All the news crews fixed on her and waited for what came next. They weren't about to miss the story of a lifetime.

Terra took a deep breath and looked up at them with fierce look, "my name is Terra. I was the apprentice to this city's most notorious criminal... Slade," the news crews and officers all let out a silent gasp as they began to converse amongst themselves, "I helped him bring this city to its knees and I tried to destroy the heroes you see around me," she motioned her hand to the Titans and lowered her head before looking back up and continuing, "but even after all that... those same heroes... the heroes _you _think are evil... saved me _and _this city from a tyrant!" She raised her voice showing how serious she was, "they never tried to kill me! And they never tried to kidnap me! They aren't the monsters you should fear... I AM! So if you want to arrest anyone... ARREST ME!"

The air fell silent around them. She was serious. She was willing to take their place behind bars. All the Titans had their eyes wide and mouths agape. They couldn't believe this girl was willing to endure more suffering just to keep them from ending up behind bars.

"Terra..." Beastboy said as his voice began to tremble.

She turned to Beastboy with a small smile and sadness in her eyes, "I'm sorry Beastboy... for everything," she sounded just like she did in her dreams but this time, she was in control of the words she said, "but let me make it up to you... right now."

Raven's heart sank. She may have believed Terra didn't deserve Beastboy but after hearing what Terra just said and seeing what she just saw... it changed everything. Terra had done the impossible. She earned Ravens forgiveness. Raven's eyes began to water over as she watched Terra continued to fight for their freedom.

Terra turned to the detective and started walking towards him putting her left hand out as if asking for handcuffs, "I'm turning myself in-"

Before she could finish, a loud thud shook the ground as a creature with a familiar mechanical face appeared out of no where from the sky, landing hard behind her. Terra whipped around, eyes wide in horror looking up at this creatures face. Its haunting red glow starred right back at her and just as Terra was about to run it picked her up off her feet, throwing her over its shoulder like a rag doll. It quickly looked around and jumped to the nearest building and began climbing to the top.

"No!" Carver screamed in panic running past the police trying to get to her but the detective grabbed him knowing there was nothing he could do except get himself hurt.

"TERRA!" Beastboy yelled desperately. He tried to change into something that could chase after her but the collar he wore sent 50,000 volts down his spine preventing his change and dropping him to his knees.

The police open fire on the creature. Their bullets stuck the building all around it sending little bits of smoke and debris flying all around Terra and the creature that carried her.

"CEASE FIRE!!! YOU COULD HIT THE GIRL YOU IDIOTS!!!" The detective screamed while holding back Carver.

All the firing stopped and the officers watched helplessly as this thing reached the top of the building carrying off a small girl.

"Let us go!" Robin yelled to the detective holding out his cuffs, "a _real _kidnapping is happening right in front of you! We have to save her!"

The detective hesitated for a moment. He looked from Titan to Titan seeing their faces filled with desperation as they stared back at him. They needed to save her. They couldn't stand by as she was taken away to her death or worse. He looked down closing his eyes knowing he would most likely lose his job for what he was about to do next. He reached to his side and pressed a button on a small remote he had connected to his belt. All the restraint's glowing red lights went out and the rods went flying open causing the cuffs to fall to the ground including Starfire, Cyborg, and Beastboy's, specially made restraints.

"TITANS GO!" Robin yelled with all his might.

All the Titans sprung into action with a burning passion to save their friend. Starfire and Raven began flying after it as fast as they could. Cyborg and Beastboy got into the T-Car and the cars booster jet blasted off sending the car flying over the barricade of police cars and news trucks before landing in the street and taking a hard right on the next street in pirsuit of the creature jumping from building to building. Robin sprint over to the R-Cycle that lay on the ground where it had come crashing down.

"Robin!" Detective Smith called out. Robin turned to face him, "you might need this!" He threw Robin's utility belt to him, stocked with all his gadgets.

"Please!" Carver yelled as Robin whipped his belt around his waist, "bring her back to me," His face was littered with tears. As a father... he felt he failed to protect his little girl.

"We'll bring her back," Robin said softly with confidence, "I promise."

Robin picked his bike up off the ground and the engine roared to life as he took off with intense speed dodging in between the small gaps of the barricade that the many police cars made.

Starfire and Raven kept a visual on the creature but it was just as fast as the last one and kept a fair distance away from them. It leapt from building to building as if not even trying and once it reached the outskirts of the city it jumped off the last building, disappearing into the trees of the neighboring forest Beastboy had just been in.

The T-Car came to a screeching halt as they approached the trees. Beastboy jumped out of passenger seat and changed into a cheetah. The fastest land animal he could think of and started sprinting full speed.

"Go BB!" Cyborg said encouraging his friend, "we're right behind you!" His voice sounded fierce with determination.

The passenger door shut and Cyborg floored the gas pedal trying to get around the forest keeping a close eye on where Beastboy's communicator was headed. Robin pulled up next to Cyborg and they sped together trying to figure out a way to follow their friends.

Raven and Starfire flew over the forest trying maintain their visual on the creature, and now Beastboy, through the thick of the branches. they had no idea where this thing was headed until they saw a clearing in the distance. The only building they could see for miles and it looked like an old run down factory.

The creature was still running full speed as it reached the facility. It jumped through a broken window on the second floor vanishing into the darkness.

Beastboy slowed to a stop and returned to his normal form as Raven and Starfire landed behind him. Something about this felt familiar. An ominous feeling of dread washed over them as they stared at the abandoned building.

Cyborg and Robin came speeding in on the only road that led to this building through the trees and they all regrouped in front of what seemed to be the main entrance that was boarded up with 2x4s and planks of wood. Robin moved to the front of the team and took a long look at this building knowing fully well they were about to walk into a trap.

The team looked at Robin eagerly waiting for instructions. They also knew they were walking straight into their enemy's plan. But they didn't care. They were going to save the former Titan if it meant risking their lives.

"We're not leaving here without her," Robin said to the team angrily. He turned to face them with a look of determination the Titans had never seen before, "stay together and be prepared for anything. If there's another one of these things there could be more," he turned back to face the building and the team started to break a sweat not knowing what they were about to face.

Inside the darkness of the building a TV screen lit up a single room where a hooded figure sat in front of it watching the news from the scene where the Titans had battled Dr. Light.

_In a bizarre turn of events the Titans appear to be innocent as the alledged kindnapped young girl was claiming the Titans actually saved her life. She was taken hostage by an unknown source earlier this evening. The Titans are currently in action to retrieve the missing girl. We will bring you more details as the story develops._

The hooded figure turned off the screen and stood up walking to a window of the 3rd story of the factory with his hands crossed behind his back.

Melissa stood behind him. She wanted to know what they were going to do now seeing as how the city has been exposed to the lies she built, "that was unexpected," she said trying to get him to speak.

"Yes. Most unfortunate," he respond in a dark monotone voice, "it appears we have to accelerate our plans. But first... let's give our guests a warm welcome," he stared down out the window towards the entrance of the building where the Titans stood ready to go in for a fight.


	30. The Factory

**A/N: To all my readers thank you! I've been reading your reviews yet again and I can say honestly that I never expected you guys to like my story this much. Some of you don't want it to end and that really hits me hard. Seriously, thank you so much. Don't worry this isn't the finale. I still have a lot of ideas that I really want to put in this story and I won't stop until I do. Please keep leaving me reviews or your thoughts or any kind of comment so I can continue to better my writing! Thanks again! Hope you enjoy!**

The night was so quiet it was eerie. Like a stadium filled with fans who dare not breathe as the clock ticked down in the final seconds of a close game. The factory the Titans had followed Terra to, seemed completely lifeless. It seemed as if no living soul had entered the building since the industrial revolution. Composing their fear, the team started to make their way in preparing for war.

After the creature had picked Terra up and ran with her from building to building she fainted. The pain of her injuries were too intense to handle under that kind of stress and her mind shut down as a way to evade the pain. When she woke, her cracked ribs ached more than usual from the the creatures unnatural and wild movements. She winced and let out small cries of pain as she looked around at her surroundings. Panic started to settle in around her following the agony she was was feeling.

Terra found herself bound to a steel chair in a dimly lit room with a single light that shined down above her. This consealed the rest of the room in darkness. The cast she wore was tied to the arm of the chair uncomfortably, causing her pain to be more intense. Her good arm was bound to the other arm of the chair so thight that it nearly cut off circulation. Her feet were also bound tightly to the legs of the chair. She was helpless and could barely move.

She could hear footsteps approaching from the darkness. It seemed to be only one pair of footsteps from what she could tell. Her panic rose and she started to struggle for her life, causing more pain and discomfort.

"Don't bother," a calm voice from the darkness around her said. It sounded gentle as if a woman was soothing her child, "in your current condition its useless, not to mention you'd have nowhere to go."

Terra's eyes went wide in terror. Her gaze began darting in every direction looking for the source of the voice but everywhere she looked she only saw darkness just outside the ring of light surrounding her.

"Please..." Terra began to plead to the darkness, "let me go. I have nothing you want..."

"You're right," the voice respond, "but you seem to be of value to someone else."

"So... is that what this is?" Terra asked trying to figure out what was going on, "you're holding me for ransom?"

The voice chuckled as if entertained by this girls fear, "you could say that... however, it's not money we want."

Terra started to recognize the voice the more she spoke. But she couldn't remember where she had heard it before.

"What do you want?" Terra said. Her voice started to crack. She was so scared she wanted to cry.

"You want to know what we want?" A second voice appeared behind her. A voice that chilled her to the bone. A much more familiar voice. But again she couldn't remember where she had heard it before.

The hooded figure stepped into the light behind her and Terra was frozen stiff facing forward with her eyes still wide and her jaw loosely hanging from her mouth. She bore a face of sheer horror and she dared not turn her head to face this second voice.

"It's ok, my dear," the voice said standing directly behind her. He stood uncomfortably close to her invading her personal space, "if it were you I was after, you'd know."

Terra's gaze slowly shifted to the corner of her eye and her head slowly turned. She looked up behind her as the figure stood over her. She couldn't see his face. The light cast such a dark shadow from his hood that all she could see was a black shapeless face in the dark shadows.

"Hello Terra," he said calmly, "it's been a long time..." he paused to gauge her reaction. When her reaction wasn't what he was expecting he spoke again, "you don't remember me, do you?"

Terra slightly shook her head as her horror still covered her face.

"Hmm..." He said a little disappointed. He stepped to the side and walked past her with his back facing Terra before stopping at the edge of the darkness where the light barely reached, "but you seem to remember the Titans now... is that so?"

Terra could tell something was familiar about this person and whatever it was, it was nothing good. She felt like this before but she couldn't remember where. It was triggering something inside her that was buried deep in her subconscious. Like a small voice lost in a massive crowd was crying out, telling her to run.

"I..." Terra began, "I... have dreams of them," her voice left her. She didn't know what to say and she completely shocked herself that she could manage to say anything at that moment.

"Interesting..." The cloaked figure respond. He turned sideways and began to circle her chair, "I have been keeping a close eye on you, girl. You hadn't shown _any_ signs of getting your memory back for months. However..." he stopped right behind her again and looked down at the back of Terra's head, "I knew of _one _thing that might change that... or rather... one _person_."

Beastboy was at the back of the team as they moved into the darkness of the building. Cyborg had a flash light flipped open from his shoulder, lighting the path in front of the team. Robin was at the front ahead of Cyborg as Statfire and Raven stood at Cyborg's left and right.

"Stay close. No one goes off alone," Robin said sternly. He knew this was some kind of trap and the worst thing that could happen was the team getting separated.

"I do not like this unpleasant place," Starfire said with a chill.

"Tell me about it," Cyborg said looking down at his arm, "this place is giving off such a strong electromagnetic field its throwing off my sensors," his arm kept showing a screen with 5 red dots on it representing himself and the other Titans. But every few seconds it would appear fuzzy like static before returning back to normal.

"Where do we even start looking?" Raven asked trying to form a plan, "this place is enormous."

"We'll search from top to bottom," Robin said as they came to a staircase.

Terra looked on in terror as the hooded figure walked past her once more and stepped forward into the darkness out of her sight. She had no idea what was going on. All she knew was she was captive to someone evil. Someone she had apparantly encountered before in her past.

"Why..." Terra thought twice before asking, "why are you doing this?"

"Worry not, child," the voice said from the darkness, "it'll all make sense soon."

"Our guests have arrived," the first voice said. Terra had completely forgotten all about her. This woman just seemed to stand in the darkness quietly while the hooded man spoke to her, "shall I go greet them?"

"No," he replied back to her, "keep our friend here company," his voiced seemed to grow more and more distant as if he was leaving the room, "I'll go bring her an old friend. After all he _is _the guest of honor."

The Titans reached the top of the stair case on the third floor. It had a long hallway with six doors that lead to offices. This could only be where the factory leaders worked. The "big-shots" at the head of the company for whatever this building used to run. They searched every room preparing for some kind of trap or fight but found nothing. Rooms at the back of this hallway had windows that over looked a massive open room that was too dark to really see what was in it. The only thing they found on the top floor, was an empty room with an old TV and a single chair in front of it. The window of this room over looked the front of the factory where the Titans had just been standing moments earlier. When they were satisfied that there was nothing to find on the top floor they began to head back to the staircase to search the next.

Raven looked over at Beastboy as they began walking to the staircase. He seemed much quieter than usual. She knew Terra defending them was a very emotional moment for him but he was handling it completely different than how Beastboy used to do. He seemed composed and diligent. Like he wasn't about to make some rash decision that could end up getting himself killed. However, the energy he was giving off was extreme. He was furious and anxious. But on the surface he looked calm and steady. She had a hard time figuring out what he would actually do when they found Terra.

Beastboy looked up at Raven and caught her staring at him, "what?" He asked quietly with curiousity.

Raven quickly looked away trying to focus back on the mission, "it's nothing," she said unconvincing, "you're just quieter than normal is all."

"Don't worry," he said as if reading her thoughts, "I'm not gonna make the same mistake twice," Beastboy looked forward and his face had a look so intense, it could move mountains, "not this time."

Raven went deep into thought as she looked back at beastboy from the corner of her eye. _Same mistake? What does that mean? Does he know something we don't?_

They came to the second floor where Beastboy and the girls had seen the creature jump to from the outside. This floor was a wide open space where desks and small cubicles used to line the floor from front to back. It was most likely an administrative floor that took calls from customers but now it was vast empty room with trash strung everywhere. It didn't take more than a quick look around to see there was nothing in the room.

"Man," Cyborg said frustrated, "how do even know that thing is still here? What if it left and we've been wasting our time searching for her in this dump?"

"We won't know for sure unless we search every last bit of this place," Robin shot back as turned to face the team, "Terra is our friend and no matter how long it takes to find her, we won't rest until we do," he sounded serious and firm like this was a do or die mission.

The team felt his seriousness and it was inspiring. It fired them up. They weren't leaving with out finding her. They moved back to the staircase to head back to the first floor.

When they reached the first floor, they found themselves in the same hallway they first entered. Across the hallway was a pair of double doors which held a sign that said _Caution: No Personnel Past This Point Without Proper Protective Equipment. _It was clear they were about to enter the actual factory.

Robin looked at his team and made a hand signal that told them to be ready.

Starfire's hands glowed green as Cyborg equipped his sonic cannon. Raven levitated and Beastboy took a steady fighting stance ready to change into what would best fit the coming conflict.

Robin nod his head and he drew his staff with a hand full of circular devices in the other. He kicked the door open landed on the other side prepared to fight. But what they found was a massive room with a ceiling higher than the third floor as if it were the roof. Robin looked up behind him. There were windows over looking this room from the floors they were just on. It was clear now this was the labor floor where all the items this building used to manufacture were made.

Cyborg lowered his sonic cannon and Starfire's glow had faded. Raven gently floated down to the floor and Beastboy relaxed his stance. They were faced with yet another empty room. Frustration came over the Titans. They had searched the whole building and found nothing. Maybe Cyborg was right.

Cyborg threw his arm out to his side slamming the bottom of his fist against the wall next to him, "I knew it!" He said angrily, "we've just been wasting our time!"

Once he removed his fist from the brickwall and pair of red eyes opened in its place. A creature made of the same bricks as the wall emerged from and swung the same fist Cyborg sent at him.

Cyborg drew his sonic cannon but the strike landed on him before he could get a shot off and he was knocked off his feet sending him flying from the doorway into a near by machine the factory hadn't used in years.

Starfire wasted no time and leaned forward with her eyes glowing green. She fired a powerful starbolt from her eyes sending the creature flying in the other direction landing in a pile of old unused sheet metal.

Cyborg got up out of the machine he had just crushed and was about to go charging into the fight when another pair of red eyes opened from the machine he just got out of. A creature then came out of the mahince made of the same metal and Cyborg ducked under its strike this time landing a powerful counter punch to its chest knocking it back away from him.

The creature that Starfire had shot got up and remained in its brick form but yet another pair of red eyes opened and another creature stepped out of the sheet metal the first one had landed on.

Robin started to realize what was happening and what kind of trap they just walked into. He turned around to the open room of the factory and his eyes stretched wide as the sight he was seeing.

Red eyes stared opening from everywhere. Creatures made from every material in the factory started to take from and move towards them. This was a fight he knew they couldn't win.

"Titans, RUN!" He shouted as he turned to head for the door. The rest of the team looked in the direction Robin was and they all fell into a terrified shock. They barley survived fighting one of these things... now they faced an army.


	31. Cloak and Dagger

**A/N: To all my readers welcome back! Thank you again for reading my story. Sorry this one took a while. I wanted to go into as much detail as possible without making it drag on. This one is pretty dark so if you think I took it too far please leave me a review so I can fix that! As always please drop a fav or follow if you still like what you're reading. Thanks again! I hope you enjoy!**

The Titans found themselves in a retreat from an ambush. They were frantically running for their lives as if a nuclear bomb had detonated near them and they were trying to escape the blast.

"Come on let's go!" Beastboy yelled standing on the other side of the doorway. He waived his arms in the direction of the exit as he waited for the others to pass him.

Cyborg and Starfire regrouped at the door together and ran out of the room. They looked back and waited for the others with Beastboy.

Robin and Raven were holding off the advancing horde of elementals. Robin swung his staff at the face of a creature made of steel. Its head snapped back as it stumbled backwards. Another made of sand threw a stretched arm with a fist at the end of it at Robin as he regained his stance. Raven built a black barrier and the fist landed against it exploding in a cloud of dust in every direction just before it reached Robin.

Robin saw his chance and retreat to his friends. He ran past Raven and as he did, she withdrew her shield and turned to follow on Robin's tail right behind him.

Robin ran past the others and started sprinting for the door signaling the Titans to follow.

"What about Terra?!" Cyborg asked as the others followed behind Robin.

"We need to get out of here and come back with help. There's way too many for us to fight," Robin said admitting defeat, "no one can save Terra if we go down too!"

The others were frustrated. They promised they wouldn't leave here without Terra but here they were running for their lives. The worst part was they knew they had no choice in the matter.

Beastboy was the most distraught of the Titans. He looked back down the hall seeing the hallway starting to fill with these... things. But something behind them caught his eye.

The dark shape of a hooded figure stood in the door way at the end of the hall past the staircase. It slowly turned and vanished into the shadows.

"Guys!" Beastboy screamed stopping and turning back to the hallway filled with creatures, "follow me!" He transformed into a triceratops and started charging head first through countless enemies.

The Titans spun around to see their friend rushing through this strange army of enemies. They looked at each other and agreed to follow Beastboy's lead and charged into battle behind him.

Starfire flew down the hallway shooting beams from her eyes at every creature that was about to pounce on Beastboy as he charged. Cyborg was helping her shooting his sonic cannon all around Beastboy keeping him clear of any that might attack him from behind.

As Beastboy passed the doorway to the factory more creatures came pouring out of the entrance and rushed towards the other Titans. Beastboy reached the end of the hall and disappeared into the doorway he saw the figure go into earlier.

He came to a metal staircase that zigged and zagged down into what looked like a cellar. Without hesitation he began running down the stairs.

Robin threw a fist full of circular explosives threw the air at the mass of enemies. They exploded on impact stopping the horde in their tracks in a cloud of smoke. However, it didn't last as more passed through the smoke continuing to advance towards them.

Raven raised her hands with dark orbs and a large square piece of the floor lifted from the ground surrounded in her dark energy. It was perfectly sized to fit the hallway and walled off all the creatures from advancing further down the hall. The creatures slammed against this new wall and Raven groaned as she struggled to hold it against them.

Cyborg and Starfire put their palms flat against the wall and began pushing with all their strength, helping Raven push them back. They also strained as they fought back the force of the army on the other side.

Robin saw they had been separated from their teammate and pulled out his communicator, slamming his back against the wall in between Cyborg and Starfire applying what little pressure he could to assist his friends.

"Beastboy! We've been seperated! Fall back! I repeat! FALL BACK! We can't lose you too!" Robin said desperately hoping to get through to him. But his communicator only responded with static.

Beastboy ran futher into the darkness. This person knew where Terra was. This person was responsible for everything. And he was determined to make them pay.

As he approached the end of the metal staircase he realized he wasn't being followed by the creatures and this worried him. He was starting to see that the whole point of the cloaked figure showing himself was to bait them into another trap. He didn't care though. He was going to keep his promise. He wasn't leaving here without Terra.

Beastboy slowed down in the pitch black of this basement. He could barely see a hand in front of his face let alone where he was stepping. Thoughts coursed through his mind of what he might encounter. He knew he was in a really bad position. Though there was a small glow at the end of the hall. It looked like the only room with a light on. Beastboy grit his teeth as his anger grew.

As he got closer to the room he could see it was a single light and it was illuminating Terra bound tightly to a metal armchair. But the light only lit up the area around Terra leaving the rest of the room in darkness. Beastboy's eyes went wide and he began running towards the door.

"Terra!" He yelled as he got closer and closer.

Terra looked up at the darkness where she could hear his familiar voice. She looked on in horror knowing he was walking right into a trap.

"Beastboy don't! It's a trap!" She screamed to the darkness.

But her words fell on deaf ears. He knew it was and he was going to face it and get her out there no matter what the cost.

Beastboy ran through the door into the dark room with a single light. He stood at the edge of the light where Terra could barely see him.

"Where is he?!" Beastboy said in a rage. He was hoping Terra knew and could help him face this foe.

Terra's eyes darted around the room but she still couldn't see past the circle of light that concealed the room around her in shadows. Their eyes met once more and fear started to set in as the room filled with with a horroifying voice from behind Terra. The cloaked figure slowly stepped into the light standing uncomfortably close to Terra once again.

"Now isn't this a familiar sight?" The voice said standing behind Terra. He towered over her like a monster. He still had his hood up but Beastboy knew exactly who this was.

His mind flashed back to the house of mirrors when he abandoned Terra after she tricked him. The same sight was right in front of him. An evil man stood behind Terra as if Terra was his and he could do anything he wanted with her. It was like reliving a nightmare Beastboy had tried to bury away deep inside himself.

"You're not gonna take her away from me again!" Beastboy shot at him with an intense amount of resentment, "let her go Slade!"

It dawned on Terra where she felt this disturbing feeling before. It was in her dream. Fighting a faceless enemy for reasons she didn't know. The faceless enemy remained faceless but here he stood. Right behind her. Her fear shot through the roof and she began breathing heavily. She dared not turn around to see this person again.

"My dear boy," said the cloaked figure, "I don't want _her," _He reached up to his hood and removed it revealing his face. The right half of his face was still concealed in darkness. But a bronze colored mask covering the left half was unmistakable. It really was Slade.

"Then why is she here?!" Beastboy demanded answers, "if you hurt her I swear-"

"Calm yourself Beastboy," Slade interrupted, "I haven't done a thing to the child."

Beastboy stood frozen for a second confused. _What was the point of all this then? _He thought.

"You look confused," Slade said mockingly, "I thought you and the Titans would know me better than that by now. Was all our bonding over the end of the world really so meaningless?" He said toying with Beastboy.

"If you're not after revenge on Terra then why did you take her?" Beastboy interrogated.

"Isn't it obvious?" Slade said darkly, "I'm after you," his one visible eye squint ever so slightly emphasizing that he intended to make Beastboy suffer.

Beastboy's eyes went wide and he was about to morph into a lion to strike at his long time arch enemy but before he could, a long rubberband-like arm stretched out locking a collar around his neck. The same one the police had on him earlier that night.

Beastboy's body froze stiff as volts of electricity pulsed through his body. It was twice as strong as he remembered. When it finally stopped he fell to his knees gasping for air.

Beastboy turned around to see Melissa walk out from the darkness as her arm retracted back to its original form. She had been lying in wait for Slade's signal.

Beastboy looked up at her even more confused. He had never seen this woman before. But Terra had. Once on the news at school. She stood in front of her mother at the podium leading a rally.

"I know you..." She said angrily, "you were working for him the whole time?! You tricked my mom into helping you?!?!" Terra winced in pain as her aching injuries flared up from her out burst.

"Oh, darling," Melissa's voice changed. She sounded like she had a Russian accent, "You _vwere_ never on my list for vengeance," Melissa's body then morphed into a tall figure with short jet-black hair wearing a skimpy red uniform with leather black gloves and thigh high boots. It was Madam Rouge, "but for this green boy," she said lifting Beastboy's chin up towards her face, "I do not care who I must use or destroy. So long as I can see him suffer," she flicked her finger off his chin and Beastboy's head fell slightly like his head was lowered.

Terra's eyes widened as this change frightened her. She had no idea what was going on now.

Beastboy looked back up at Rouge in a greater panic. Between breaths he tried to speak, "How'd... We froze-"

"I set her free," Slade said explaining her presence, "I have kept a close eye on you and all your friends for quiet some time," Slade raised his hand from his cloak and in his hand he held a remote. He pressed a button and the room lit up from end to end with TV screens each depicting a different Titan and their recent battles, engagments, and everyday life routines.

Beastboy looked around from screen to screen seeing all the events of his recent life. Their fight in the north pole, joining with the Doom Patrol against the Brotherhood of Evil, Robin fighting Madam Rouge with Hotspot. Even the Titans battle agaisnt the Brain and its army of villains. But what frightened him most were the more recent ones. Videos of him talking to Terra at school. Of the Titans facing Mad Mod shortly after. Starfire and Robin at the prison dropping off Mad Mod. Then one screen displayed something that struck Beastboy hard... Him and Raven alone in the diner.

"After seeing her talents, I did some... recruiting," Slade said with a sinister tone.

"Why?" Beastboy managed to utter through the lingering pain from the last shock, "why Terra?"

"Oh come now," Slade said thinking it should be obvious at this point, "I've already told you before... You should know by now I only do anything when it best suits _me,_" he walked around Terra and stood over Beastboy who was still on his knees. He glared down with an evil look only Slade could manage to express through his mask and kicked Beastboy like a football into the wall of screens shattering them behind him.

Beastboy landed on the floor with a thud. He knew this was bad. Without his abilities he knew he didn't stand a chance against both Slade _and _Madam Rouge.

"Stop!" Terra plead, "please stop!" She had tears in her eyes watching the little green shapeshifter get pulverized.

Slade picked up Beastboy by the chest of his shirt and held him close to his face and spoke with a low sinister voice, "Terra's betrayal may have been my demise but if it weren't for you, she never would have dared defy me!" He threw Beastboy into the center of the room at Terra's feet.

Terra looked down at Beastboy and her tears began to fall down her cheeks and she began to grow more angry. Without thinking she screamed at the two villains.

"THEN WHY ARE YOU HURTING HIM?! IF I WAS THE ONE WHO BETRAYED YOU AND I CAUSED YOUR DEMISE THEN WHY NOT TAKE YOUR VENGEANCE ON ME?!" She could feel the pain from her wounds growing but her anger was so strong she didn't even notice.

"Vengeance is only satisfying when the one youre taking vengeance on knows exactly _why_ they are being punished," Slade answered quickly already knowing that question would be asked. He walked back over to Beastboy on the ground and stood over him in front of Terra, "I _did_ want vengeance on you Terra, but when I arrived at the place you destroyed me there was no trace of you," he said with a dark tone, "all I found was a monument in your name so I could only assume you perished as well. But there was no burial. No remains. I almost gave up hope I'd ever taste the sweet satisfaction of watching you beg for your life," he paused and placed a boot on Beastboy's skull slowly applying pressure, "but then it dawned on me... It wasn't _you _who defeated me. It was this worthless, pathetic, little life form you cared so much about!" His voice grew intense with fury.

Beastboy let out a small cry of pain as he lay on the floor with his head getting slowly crushed.

"Besides," Slade continued looking back up at Terra, "I found you not long after I left the cave. I followed your every move. I studied you closely. At first I didn't think it was really you. But I realized you had no memory what-so-ever. It wouldn't be satisfying at all to crush you if you didn't know why you were being made to suffer," Slade removed his boot from Beastboy and picked him up once more, "however, I knew... If there was _anyone_ who might jog your memory it was this one," Slade landed a fist into Beastboy's jaw sending him tumbling across the floor past Terra. As if not missing a beat he continued, "so I began my planning, I and brought someone along who proved to be quiet useful and she was more than willing to cooperate as we had a common goal," he looked at Terra's cast, "and I couldn't have asked for better results. My omnidroid lead Beastboy right to you and he didn't even hesitate to take the bait. But when you blew him off, I had to force him back into your life. I knew he wouldn't let anything happen to you. However, you ending up in the hospital was not my intentions but it played perfectly into my hand," he looked back at Rouge who had a very pleased look on her face. She smiled as if she were enjoying every moment in this basement, "with a little practice, Rouge pulled off the perfect act and lead the city into rebellion against the young heroes. With the Titans viewed as criminals and Beastboy alienated, all we had to do was wait. But you..." he turned back to Terra, "_you_ had to go and take the blame for them," he grabbed Terra by the chin and got really close to her face, "your little stunt might have set back the rest of my plan," He gently threw her head back and walked past Terra towards Beastboy on the ground behind her, "it doesn't matter though. Thanks to my new friend we have all we need to take down you and the rest of your little friends."

Terra turned her head around trying to see what he was about to do the helpless Titan.

"More importantly... If I couldn't get my vengeance on the one who betrayed me," Slade put a boot under Beastboys shoulder and rolled him to his back. Beastboy laid there in pain unable to move. He looked up helplessly at the villain with bloodlust in his one visible eye, "then I will get my vengeance on the one who helped her..." he turned his head to make sure she was looking at her helpless hero, "while _she_ watches."

Slade raised another hand from under his cloak and revealing another remote. This one was a small cylinder with a single button. When he pressed it Beastboy's entire body tensed up as every muscle in his body flexed in place. The collar around his neck sparked with blue bolts of electricity discharging in every direction, sending 100,000 volts down his spine. The second Terra saw this she unleashed a blood curdling scream.

"NOOOOOOOO!!!!" Her voice could shatter glass but she started to realize something different about herself in that very moment.

Her eyes began to glow yellow.


	32. Destruction

**A/N: To all my readers thanks for tuning in again! I had a lot of fun writing this chapter. Took me a while to organize it just right but I think its good enough to publish. Thanks again for your reviews. I'm starting to think maybe my plot is extremely obvious from one person guessing all my ideas lol but I'm gonna continue writing regardless! Please leave me a review if you think there's a way I can improve this story or my writing in general! Thanks again! Hope you enjoy!**

The dimly lit darkness of the hallway was filled with intensity. Robin and the three Titans had many fears coursing through their minds. Their friend had been separated from them and he was on the other side of this barricade surrounded in dark energy. Did he get swarmed by the vast number of those things? Why did he turn around and charge into them? Was he ok? They had no way of knowing. The building was surrounded by a strong electromagnetic field disturbing all of their transmissions.

"Beastboy! Do you copy?! I said fall back!" Robin shouted into his communicator only to hear more static in response, "Beastboy do you read?!"

"It's no use!" Cyborg said as he struggled to hold back the force behind the wall he pushed against, "this place is jamming our signal!"

"We must get to our friend!" Starfire shouted also straining to push against the barrier, "he may need our assistance!"

Robin put his communicator away and started racking his brain. He had no idea what they could do in this situation. The whole thing seemed hopeless.

As the team continued to push back the horde separated by Raven's wall, they began to tire. The team started losing ground as the creatures began to win this tug of war.

Cyborg's human face began to show beads of sweat that rolled down his forehead as he clenched his jaw. His feet began slowly sliding back confirming his fear that they were losing the battle.

Starfire also started to give way as her arms started to bend at the elbows. She closed her eyes and leaned forward trying to lock them back out but she couldn't seem to manage it.

Raven also strained more and more as sweat also started to roll down her temples on to her cheeks. Her eyes glowed bright white as she continued to focus but she closed them trying to focus harder as she grit her teeth.

Robin didn't know what else to do. He pulled out his staff and shoved one end into the crease at the bottom of the wall where it met the floor, seeing if he could wedge the wall from moving any further but his staff just started to grind against the floor proving unsuccessful.

All hope seemed lost... but then the ground beneath them rumbled violently and the entire factory began to shake. The Titans all looked at each other and began to panic. Whatever was happening, it wasn't good.

In the basement, Slade and Rouge looked at each other with a hint of fear. They weren't expecting this at all. Terra had shown no signs of her power ever since she came back. Slade assumed that she didn't have them anymore but now he knew they were just dormant waiting to be unleashed by the raw force of her emotions.

In the underground darkness, the ground was shaking so badly the two villains could barely stand on their own feet. They both had the same thought on their minds and began to stumble for the door before the ceiling could collapse on top of them, sealing their fate.

"_vW__hat_ about the brats?" Rouge asked Slade as he made his way past her into the darkness of the hallway.

Slade looked back at Terra in the center of the room. She looked like she was in pain like her suffering was caused by her own actions, "it seems fitting that Terra creates her own tomb once more," Slade said in a dark tone, "in any case, we still have a city to conquer and an army to lead," and with that he began hurring for the emergency exit he had installed incase things didn't go his way.

Rouge didn't like that. She wanted to see the life leave the body of the green changeling that defeated her and her Brotherhood of Evil. But with the situation growing more worse by the second she knew it was a matter of time before they were also entombed from Terra's devastating power. She took one last look at the Titan laying on the floor as his life was slowly being drained by the collar around his neck. Her face grew angry and she turned to follow slade into the darkness of the hall to make their escape.

Back in the hallway Raven's emotions started to take over her mind. She felt like she was about to lose someone she loved dearly to what seemed to be a natural disaster. And right when things were starting to get better. Her anger rose and with it her power grew more intense.

"GET... OUT... OF... MY WAY!!!!" She screamed as if threatening the mass of enemies on the other side of her wall.

The wall began moving in the opposite direction giving the Titans a glimmer of hope for victory. Cyborg and Starfire looked as if they found new life and began pushing with even more strength than they themselves thought possible.

"Azarath, Metrion, ZINTHOS!" Raven let out a dark and disturbing war cry as her eyes opened, glowing even brighter than before. The wall shot like a cannon from its current position sending the creatures flying down the hall and through the wall at the end of the hallway with a crunch.

The wall moved so fast Cyborg, Starfire, and Robin nearly fell face first into the floor as if someone pulled an imaginary rug out from under them. They all looked back at Raven who darted past them in the air with intense speed as the factory continued to shake violently. Not wasting any time the others followed quickly behind her. To the team's surprise, the creatures stopped pouring into the hallway and even looked like they had been ordered to evacuate the area. They began running out of the factory jumping out of windows and taking emergency exits.

Still tightly bound to the metal chair, Terra's glowing yellow eyes were starring up at the ceiling as she wailed in pain. Not physical pain, but a pain she had long forgotten. The mental pain of losing control over a powerful force that could destroy anything in mere seconds. Tears were still rolling down her cheeks as she tried to regain control. She closed her eyes and put her head down clenching her jaw in an attempt to lessen the pain in her mind.

The Titans were sprinting down the metal staircase trying not to lose their footing as the stairs started to crumble and fall apart. When they finally reached the bottom the stairs, they collapsed into a large pile of scraps leaving their exit blocked. There was no turning back now.

The team ran down the long hallway towards the only light they could see. They began shouting out to their friend's hoping to get any response indicating they were still alive.

They all approached the door at the end of the hall together. When they reached the doorway they saw a young blonde girl bound to a chair in the middle of the room. In unison the team called out to her.

"Terra!"

Terra looked up at them as her eyes continued to glow and the Titans realized what was happening. They ran in towards Terra but before they reached her she shouted over the loud rumbling surrounding them.

"SAVE... BEASTBOY!!!" She managed to say through her pain.

Raven was already flying past Terra before Terra could even finish her sentence. Even though he was on the ground behind Terra, Beastboy was the first thing she saw and the only thing on her mind.

Cyborg rushed over to Terra flipped open a little torch from his finger and began burning through her restraints as Starfire and Robin helped on the other restraints.

Raven looked down at Beastboy assessing what was happening to him. His entire body was still flexed and shaking with tremors. His back was arched off the ground well beyond its natural limits and him limbs pressed tightly against the ground around him. He clenched his teeth tightly with his eyes closed but there seemed to be no sign of struggle coming from him. Raven looked at the collar around his neck, still discharging blots of blue in every direction. She raised her hands together towards the collar and threw them violently apart as if ripping a piece of paper in half. The collar was swallowed in her dark energy and snapped in half off of him like a fragile toothpick.

Beastboy's body relaxed and fell lifeless on the ground. He was unconscious and Raven couldn't tell if he was breathing. The powerful earthquake around them made it impossible to tell.

The other Titans finally got the restraints off Terra after what felt like forever. Once Terra was free she put her hands over her temples trying to fight the pain in her mind, "what's... happening... to me?" She uttered with discomfort.

Cyborg picked her up and looked at Robin who was doubting if they were going to be able to escape in time. He looked around to see chunks of the ceiling and debris falling all around them.

"Starfire!" Raven called out as she struggled to lift the lifeless body of Beastboy off the ground. She had one of his arms around the back of her neck but she couldn't support all his weight and needed help.

Starfire flew over to Raven picking up Beastboy's other arm and together they dragged Beastboy across the floor to the center of the room with the rest of the team.

Cyborg held Terra like he was cradling a new born baby. She still had her hands over her temples with her eyes shut tightly. They all struggled to stand as the quake continued. Robin knew Raven was their only chance of escaping and he ran over to take Beastboy's arm from her.

Raven hesitated but understood why Robin was taking over for her and she released her teammate into the care of Robin and began to focus her energy. Raven raised her hands as her eyes glowed bright white once again and the six of them were surrounded by an extensive orb of dark energy. When the orb vanished there was nothing left in the room except the chair Terra was bound to. Immediately afterwards, the building began collapsing. Huge pieces of the ceiling and walls began to break and give way filling the now empty room with a loud crash.

Outside, the factory could be seen crumbling into nothing as a massive crater formed around the site burying the tall structure in an enormous cloud of dust and smoke. Nothing was left of the old factory but debris and ruins.

The extensive orb of dark energy appeared near the T-Car and R-Cycle a safe distance away from the destruction. The Titans all appeared from the dark orb and it faded away as Raven's eyes returned to their normal amethyst color.

Terra's pain began to fade as the earth quake came to a stop. She relaxed her arms and body and fainted with dried tears on her face. Cyborg scanned her for additional injuries but she seemed like she would be fine and he placed her in the passenger seat of the T-Car.

Starfire and Robin looked at their lifeless friend and panic started to overtake them as they gently laid him down on his back in the grass. Robin didn't know how to help and was on one knee next to Beastboy looking on helplessly. Starfire stumbled backwards covering her mouth with the palms of her hands, balled in fists. She was in shock and could barely breathe.

"Beastboy!" Raven cried out running over where Starfire had just backed away. She fell to her knees leaning over Beastboy. Her eyes went wide and she began to worry more than ever, "Cyborg!" she looked up at Cyborg and her eyes screamed like she was begging for his help.

Cyborg turned around and realized that his best friend was unconscious. He rushed over and dropped to his knees above Beastboy's head scanning for any sign of life.

Raven stared at her mechanical friend impatient and desperate for answers. She looked back down at Beastboy's face and only managed a whisper, "is he...?" Her eyes glossed over as tears began to settle in. She didn't dare finish her sentence.

"He's alive..." Cyborg respond, but he wasn't at all relieved. He turned his head to Raven with the most intense look any of the Titans had ever seen from him, "but just barely," Cyborg looked over to Robin and spoke loudly ensuring Robin recieved the message, "we need to get him to the Tower now!" Cyborg picked him up and placed him in the back of the T-Car.

Raven sat in the back with him. His head laying softly in her lap. She held his hand tightly begging for him to wake up. He didn't look like he was breathing even now with the ground standing still. She began to tremble and pressed Beastboy's hand to her forehead agaisnt her gemstone with her head held low.

_Please... _She thought to herself. _Please don't leave me._

Cyborg turned the key and the engine roared to life. He floored the gas pedal spinning the tires out from underneath drifting the car in a perfect circle to face the direction of the city. Once it was lined up with the road he hit the turbo and the thruster on the back exploded out propelling the vehicle at tremendous speed.

Robin was quickly following behind him on the R-Cycle as Starfire flew above him.

Cyborg glanced over at Terra. He saw Terra leaning her head back against the seat with her eyes half open. She looked like she was waking from a deep sleep as she stared into the back seat lazily and unblinking. Cyborg wondered if this meant anything but he brushed it off and continued focusing on getting everyone to the tower.

Terra was drifting in and out of consciousness as the bumpy ride tossed her gently about. She indeed looked back into the back seat of the car. She saw Raven holding Beastboy's hand tightly to her forehead as she fought back tears. Terra felt a mixture of emotions. Maybe she shouldn't have done what she did. Maybe none of this would have happened if she hadn't spoke out earlier. She felt disappointed in herself. She felt angry that anyone would do this to such a kind soul who was willing to risk their life for others. And after everything that happened that night, she was starting to wonder if maybe... just maybe... she _did_ have feelings for the green Titan not so long ago.


	33. Death in the Tower

**A/N: To all my readers welcome back! This chapter was really emotional. Kinda nervous to publish it honestly. But I hope you all like it regardless! I can't believe I have 37 people following this story right now. You guys are truly amazing. Thank you all so much! Please leave me a review if you know how I can better improve my writing and let me know how I'm doing! Thanks again! I hope you like it!**

The night droned on like a nightmare. The team was headed to the Tower with a Titan nearing death. Panic was understatement at this point.

Cyborg was racing through the streets at a daring speed. He had a look of crazed determination on his face as he grit his teeth. The rear view mirror held an image that scared him more than any villain he had ever faced. Raven holding Beastboy's hand knowing they were agaisnt the clock to save him.

Cyborg glanced down at the digital speedometer on his dash. The number kept climbing but he felt like they were moving in slow motion.

_180,195, 205, 210. _The speedometer strated going up slower and slower. The T-Car was starting to top out at its maximum speed.

"Oh come on!" Cybrog said frustrated, "Hang in there BB!"

Robin and Starfire were close on his tail though Starfire couldn't keep up with the T-Car at this speed so she flew down to Robin and straddled the seat directly behind him wrapping her arms tightly around his waist. Robin was also struggling to keep up with the T-Car. He was also nearing the maximum speed his R-Cycle could produce.

The Tower finally appeared in the distance as the city passed by them in a blur. As they got closer to the ocean cyborg hit a button on the dash. And like a garage door, the street dropped into a tunnel under the water. The T-Car shot through the air off the ground as it entered the tunnel. Sparks chipped off the top pf the car as the roof scrapped against the ceiling as it fell down into the tunnel. It landed with a hard screech of the tires and Cyborg struggled to regain control speeding through the underground tunnel to the Tower.

"Hold on Star!" Robin yelled as the R-Cycle also caught some air. Robin and Statfire had to duck their heads and barely avoided the ceiling. Robin landed flawlessly and continued chasing the vehicle in front of him.

The team was slowly increasing speed as they continued down hill in this deep tunnel before the decent finally stopped and began to rise back to the surface.

Another entrance like a garage door opened in front of Cyborg and the T-Car ramped into the air, entering the garage of the Tower. As soon as he landed, he slammed on the brakes spinning the T-Car around in a ear piercing screech. The car slid to a stop with the engine emitting a think smoke. Robin followed quickly behind them in the same fashion, only his tires screeched to a stop with him and Starfire holding on for dear life.

Raven threw her door open as Cyborg jumped out of the drivers seat to grab Beastboy off of her. He picked Beastboy up like a small child and started sprinting to the door with Raven right behind him. She was deeply worried about him as Beastboy's arms hung limp behind him with his head tilted back just as limp as his arms.

Starfire and Robin jumped off the R-Cycle and ran to the passenger door of the T-Car. Robin pulled the door open so fast he nearly ripped it off its hinges. As he opened the door Statfire was already pulling Terra out. She picked her up and flew to the door right behind Cyborg and Raven as Robin followed.

The medical wing was located right above the garage in case an emergency like this ever came up. After one flight of stairs you'd find yourself in front of the door to medical assistance. They took the stairs knowing fully well they could move faster than the elevator could have carried them.

Cyborg gently threw Beastboy on one of the medical beds and flicked opened the same torch from his finger and cut down the center of Beastboy's shirt exposing his body. Raven was on the other side of the bed looking down over Beastboy with a deep and passionate concern. Cyborg hooked up three rubber suction discs to Beastboy's chest. One on each side of his rib cage and one in the center of his chest slightly to the right. Each disc was connected to a thin wire that lead to individual devices that monitor a certain part of the human body.

Robin and Starfire ran in right behind the others and placed Terra in a bed next to Beastboy before joining the others.

Cyborg looked up at the monitors and grit his teeth impatiently as he waited for numbers to pop up on the screens of each device to tell him exactly what was wrong. The wait was painful and felt like an eternity.

When the numbers finally appeared, they showed devastating results which made the individual devices start blaring with small sirens. Cyborg sprang into action without a word. Raven began to panic even more after hearing the monitors wailing and seeing Cyborg move with intense speed and purpose.

Robin also started to worry but he had to know what was wrong to see if he could help, "Cyborg what is it?!"

"Where do I start?!" Cyborg said in a concentrated panic, "his oxygen levels are dangerously low, his blood pressure is through the roof, he's facing severe dehydration, and his heart rate is so slow he could get brain damage! It's like BB was boiled alive from the inside!" He was grabbing all kinds of small bottles of prescription liquids before grabbing syringes to apply them to his unconscious friend.

The room went silent when the monitor for his heart stopped blaring like a siren and set off a deafing long and steady high pitch tone.

Beastboys heart had stopped.

Starfire didn't know much about earth's medical procedures but she had seen enough American television to know what that meant. She backed away slowly and put both her hands over mouth. She didn't even try to fight back the tears that began to run down her cheeks.

Raven's eyes went wide and her jaw dropped with a look of petrified horror on her face. Tears started to pool in her eyes as well.

Cyborg dropped everything as he spun around to see the monitors, "no, No, NO, NOOO!" He screamed. He stepped back up to the bed and started administering CPR, "DON'T YOU QUIT ON ME B!!!"

Robin dashed over to the things Cyborg dropped and started looking at each one. He didn't know what each one did but he knew he had to help somehow, "Cyborg! What do you need from these?!"

"1000mg of papaverine!" Cyborg yelled. He finished counting his chest compressions and lifted Beastboy's chin slightly before blowing two quick breaths into his mouth. He began performing more chest compressions immediately after when the heart monitor showed no change.

Robin started looking all over the bottles and found the papaverine Cyborg mentioned. He filled nearest syringe to the 1000mg mark and rushed back to stand next to Cyborg.

"Robin take over CPR!" he yelled, "ten more compressions before rescue breaths!"

Robin handed Cyborg the syringe and jumped up on the bed straddling Beastboy's waist using his body weight to perform the chest compressions.

Raven slowly backed away as her jaw began to close, clenching tightly with her petrified fear still covering her face. Like Starfire, she began to feel her tears rolling down her cheeks.

Starfire stood frozen as she watched on in horror, begging X'hal for her friends life to be spared.

Cyborg's hands were shaking as he held the syringe to Beastboy's arm. He closed his eyes trying to regain his focus. He took a deep breath and looked back at Beastboy's bare arm and steadied himself.

_We've got one shot at this Cy. You can't fail him now! _He thought to himself.

Robin finished counting his compressions and tilted Beastboy's head back and blew two more rescue breaths into Beastboy's mouth.

Still no reaction from Beastboy or the heart monitor.

Cyborg waited for the second breath from Robin and immediately stuck the syringe into his friends arm pushing on the plunger right before Robin began chest compressions again.

_"_1, 2, 3, 4, 5,"

Robin counted out loud. The room went silent except for Robin's counting. The sounds of the monitors blaring for emergency medical attention were still sounding but were completely tuned out at this point.

"6, 7, 8, 9, 10,"

Cyborg stood frozen now as well. He held his breath not knowing what expect. Losing his best friend would tear him apart and he didn't know how he could go on without him.

"11, 12, 13, 14, 15,"

Starfire felt as if her heart had stopped along with Beastboy's. She remembered what it was like at the hospital from a few weeks ago. She truly couldn't bare the thought of losing someone close to her... yet it was happening right in front of her eyes.

"16, 17, 18, 19, 20,"

Robin was focused. More focused than he had ever been. He meant what he said at the diner. Beastboy is family. Like a brother. He's already lost family before. He wasn't going to go through that again. Robin was more than determined to bring Beastboy back.

"21, 22, 23, 24, 25,"

Raven saw nothing but Beastboy. Everything else around her was a pitch black darkness. From where he lay, he lit up with room like a glowing bright light but the light was diming and Raven felt she was about to be lost in darkness forever.

"26, 27, 28, 29, 30!"

Robin finished his second set of chest compressions and the teams hearts shattered when Beastboy still remained unconscious. Robin moved in again to perform two more rescue breaths. He blew air into Beastboy's lungs trying to breathe for him once more.

Once Robin moved away Beastboy breathed in a small breath of air like a quiet sigh and his eyes opened slightly.

Robin looked at his face and saw Beastboy slowly coming back. He jumped off the bed and stood next to Cyborg, "Beastboy! Can you hear me?!" He asked filled with hope.

Raven rushed to his side looking down over Beastboy's face wiping the tears from her face with her fingers as her terror had turned into a small hopeful smile.

Beastboy looked up at Cyborg, Robin, and Raven as they leaned over him. Through his half open eyes, he used all his remaining strength to make a tiny smile before shutting his eyes once more and drifted out of consciousness again.

The heart monitor no longer wailed with a single steady tone but a slow and steady beep every few seconds. The emergency signals from all the monitors were still blaring and Cyborg snapped out of his stupor and quickly retrieved the rest of the items he dropped. He set up an IV bag and connected it to Beastboy's arm where he had previously stuck a syringe. With that IV bag he add the other medicines and after a few painstakingly long minutes the terrifying sound of the monitors finally came to a stop.

"He's stable," Cyborg said with a huge sigh of relief, "looks like he's gonna be alright."

Starfire squealed with joy and rushed over to Robin and Cyborg hugging them tightly next to Beastboy as he rest. She was balling tears of joy now.

Raven never removed her eye's from Beastboy. He wasn't conscious but he was alive. She couldn't have wished for much more than that. She grabbed his hand once more gripping it tightly. She still had a small smile with tears of joy in her eyes. She closed her eyes letting a single tear fall from each and whispered through her small smile...

"Don't you ever scare me like that again."


	34. The War Begins

**A/N: To all my readers... Welcome back! I hope you have been enjoying the story as much as I have. With this chapter the words just came pouring out of my mind so its a little longer than normal but I hope it doesn't bore you. If it does please leave me a review so I can fix that! As always please drop a fav or follow if you like what you're reading. And leave me a review if you know how I can better improve this story or my writing in general. Thanks again! I hope you enjoy!**

The sky was cloudless and the day was gorgeous over a small mining town in the middle of nowhere. The community was small so naturally everyone knew everyone. It was nearly impossible to keep a secret hidden in such a small community. However, It was an ideal place to raise children away from a dramatic city with polluted air and loud noises.

A tall blonde woman stood in a large field filled with wild flowers and tall grass. She walked slowly through the knee high grass as if searching for something. Though, she didn't seem too concerned for what she was looking for. She actually looked like she was enjoying herself on this beautiful day, as if she were playing a game.

A small child nestled herself in the tall grass. She was hiding and trying to breath softly not to give away her location as footsteps started approaching her. The rustle of the grass made her giddy with delight. As the rustle grew louder and closer to her, her heart began to race with excitment. When the noise was almost right on top of her, she couldn't contain herself any more.

_"Rrrrraaahhhhh!" _The little girl jumped out from her hiding place and shouted as loud as she could at the footsteps that approached her.

_"Aaahhhhh!" _The woman playfully screamed. She pretend to fall over into the grass as if it were soft as cotton. The little girl then jumped on top of her laughing with a big smile.

_"I scared you mommy!" _She said as she laughed. This little girl had to have been no more than six years old.

_"You sure did!" _The woman replied as she laughed with her daughter.

It was just another summer day in paradise for the two of them. But the day went dark as storm clouds moved in blocking the sun. The little girl looked to the sky as rain drops began to fall. When she looked back down the field of grass was gone and so was her mother. Distant voices drifted through the air in mass. They sounded angry and aggressive.

_"Terra!__" _The womans voice shouted over angry mass of voices, _"Terra, run! Get as far away from here as you can!" _She sounded desperate and horrified for her daughters safety.

Terra stood up quickly and realized she was no longer a child but a young girl around ten years old. In the distance she could see the tall blonde woman trying to stop a mob of people who were looking for her.

_"Please! Please don't do this! She's just a little girl! She can't control it!" _Her mother pleaded with the mob of people.

The crowd continued shouting as if her pleas meant nothing and continued to move forward towards the brave woman.

_"Mama?" _Terra called out. Her voice echoed through the air to the woman just before the crowd reached her.

_"__Baby RUN!!!" _She screamed and the crowd started running in Terra's direction holding flashlights and blunt weapons. It was clear their intentions towards Terra were not friendly in the slightest.

The woman spun around to see her daughter one last time as the crowd grabbed her violently.

"_MAMA!!!" _Terra screamed in horror. Her head began to sting with pain as if needles were stabbing her from the inside. This forced her eyes to close as she pressed the palms of her hands to her temples. The pain brought her to her knees and everything began shaking and rumbling around her. She struggled to lift her head back up and when she did her eyes shot open looking to sky glowing bright yellow, letting out an excruciating scream...

Terra woke up with a jolt yet again. She lay on her back breathing heavily as her eyes slowly regained focus to see a dark sky littered with stars above her.

She sat up in bed looking at her surroundings. The morning sun shined into the room and she instantly knew where she was. This was the room Beastboy had shown her when he was trying to help her remember her past. It was _her _room.

Terra closed her eyes and breathed easy as she began to realize she was safe. The previous night started flooding back to her and she could remember the pain in her head just before the Titans showed up to save her. She put her hand to her forehead thinking about that night and how it was eerily familiar to the dream she just had. After a moment of thinking about the two, she wondered if they were connected. She couldn't know for sure but something told her it was like her other dreams and she was willing to consider any possibilty.

She removed her hand from her forehead and reached across her body pulling the blankets off of her. She still wore her school uniform from the day prior and she shifted her legs from their outstretched position to the edge of the bed, letting her feet fall to the floor one at a time. She sat on the edge of the bed and faint images of her dream tried to refresh themselves in her mind. This was the first time Terra had ever had a dream like this since she came back.

She looked back up at the ceiling. It was painted with a near perfect mural of the night sky. As if Beastboy were in the room with her, she could hear his voice echo through the room...

_Stars... because you like to sleep outside._

Shock shot through her and she gasped out loud as she remembered what else had happened last night. She jumped off the bed and went running into the hallway. She desperately needed to know if Beastboy was ok.

In the medical wing of the Tower the hiss of an oxygen tank sending bursts of air every 10 seconds would fill the room over the steady beeping of a heart monitor. The picture was all too familiar only this time a different Titan was laying unconscious.

Beastboy lay shirtless on the hosptial bed with a long tube running from his nostrils to the hissing oxygen tank. The three different monitors were still connected to his chest and showed stable and normal readings. The IV tube was still piercing his left arm and had a slow and steady drip allowing fluids to replenish his body. He had been out cold ever since they found him with Terra 10 hours ago.

Raven sat on his right side monitoring his vitals like a hawk. She was extremely drowsy but refused to sleep. If Beastboy woke up she wanted to be there for him. She spent so much time worrying about him that she didn't even notice it was already 8:00AM.

Raven sighed and looked at Beastboy's face. It looked better than before but he still remained lifeless. She looked down his body and felt a little better to see his bare green chest rising and falling indicating he was breathing. Raven caught herself staring a little longer than normal and began to blush. She hadn't seen Beastboy without a shirt before. He was in amazing shape for his size. He had toned abs and a strong chest. Even his arms had attractive curves as her eyes scanned over his body to his biceps.

Raven was unphased as the door to the medical wing slid open. Robin had entered the room to check on his teammate. He was slightly surprised to see Raven in the room before him. He looked at Raven and her face still held a blush as she didn't look away from Beastboy.

Robin raised an eyebrow before he fully realized what he was seeing. He half smiled and raised a fist to his mouth to clear his throat loudly making his presence unmistakable.

Raven snapped out of her embarrassing trance and her head zipped towards Robin standing in the doorway. Her face turned bright red and she felt even more embarrassed as she wondered how long Robin had been standing there. She blamed her drowsiness for letting her guard down.

"How's he doing?" Robin said pretending he didn't just catch her ogling Beastboy. He walked in and stood at the foot of the bed looking up at Beastboy's vitals.

Raven sighed with relief that Robin was willing to ignore what he just saw. Her blush faded and she went back to focusing on his vitals with Robin.

"He's still breathing," she replied in her somber tone.

Robin looked over to her and realized Raven didn't come to visit Beastboy before him... She never left his side.

"Did you get _any_ sleep?" Robin asked with concern.

Raven knew lying would be pointless. Robin obviously knew the answer to that. He was less asking a question and more implying that she _needed _to get some sleep.

"No," she answered bluntly, "how could I when he nearly died last night?" She sounded depressed as if disappointed in herself.

"Cyborg said he was hurt pretty bad but that he should be fine," Robin said trying to comfort her, "you know we did everything we could and now we just need to wait for him to wake up," Robin looked down at Beastboy.

He began thinking about what happened last night. He was confused as to why Terra was taken yet relatively unharmed while Beastboy was in a small coma. His eyes glared down at him as he came to one conclusion, "it looks like who ever did this was after Beastboy all along."

Raven thought about that for a moment. It made perfect sense. What better way to trap Beastboy than using Terra as bait? Her blood started to boil and she clenched her fists.

"But why?" She asked rhetorically.

Robin knew she wasn't asking him but answered anyways, "I don't know. Maybe this whole thing has to do with the incident at the school," He put a hand to his chin and looked down, diving deep into thought, trying to piece together a theory, "maybe it was a way to get revenge. Or maybe someone has a grudge against Beastboy..."

_But who? _Raven asked herself. _Who would want revenge on Beastboy? _

The silence in room between the two Titans made the room go cold. They had a dozen suspects now. For all they knew every victim from the school hated Beastboy with the media making them look like crazed villains. They both wanted answers but interrogating the victims from the school would only make them look worse. They were stuck.

The silence finally ended when the door slid open again and Cyborg let out a long yawn as he came in to replace Beastboys IV bag. Robin turned slightly and met eyes with Cyborg for a moment before returning his gaze to Beastboy, diving back into thought. Cyborg looked at Robin unsurprised that he was there checking on Beastboy. He then turned to Raven. He wasn't surprised that she was there either but he _was_ surprised she was still awake. Raven was in the same position everytime he had come in to check on Beastboy through the night.

"Man," he said softly to Raven, "you know you didn't have to stay here the whole night. I told you I'd be checking on him every hour to replace his fluids," he began unhooking the old IV bag that hung from the elevated rack above the bed and reached into a nearby drawer grabbing a fresh one to take its place.

Raven remained silent. She had seen Cyborg come and go every hour on the hour like he said he would. He'd check Beastboy vitals, ensuring the numbers didn't change and he remained stable. Then he'd replace the IV bag and return to his room to sleep. However, that wasn't good enough for Raven. She wanted to be absolutely sure he was ok throughout the entire night.

Without taking her eyes off the changeling she spoke to Cyborg, "how much longer before he wakes up?" She asked.

"Who knows?" Cyborg said as he finished hooking up the fresh IV bag and tossing the old one into a nearby container, "he's lucky to be alive at all. Most people couldn't handle that kind of damage to their body."

"Do you have an idea?" Robin asked looking at Cyborg. He was just hoping to get some kind of estimated guess.

Cyborg understood what Robin was asking and looked up at him, "I really don't know," he said. His voice was soft and cold like his friend could be lost forever, "if anything... he should have woken up by now."

The room went cold once more as silence was only broken by the oxygen tank and heart monitor. The three Titans were starting to lose the hope they had gained last night.

After a long moment Cyborg turned to head for the door but before he made his way out he turned his head to the others in an attempt to cheer them up.

"Well we can't help BB if we don't take care of ourselves too," Cyborg said. He put on half a smile and tried sounding optimistic, "I'll make breakfast. I'm sure he'd love to have some pancakes waiting for him when he wakes up."

Robin smiled and agreed with him. He turned and head to the door with Cyborg but Raven remained seated next to the bed.

"Raven," Robin called to her stopping in the doorway, "you... want us to bring you some too?"

"I'm fine," she sounded dark. Raven didn't want to eat but her stomach ached for food. All she knew was the thought of eating made her queasy.

Robin and Cyborg looked at each other with a hint of concern. they both exit the room and the door slid shut behind them.

In the living area Starfire sat at the kitchen table with hands folded on the table in front of her. She fiddled with her fingers thinking about Beastboy in the medical room. She couldn't bare the thought much less stand there looking at him. It hurt her on a number of levels.

The doors to the living area shot open and Robin and Cyborg entered the room to see Starfire sitting at the table alone. She looked back at them but their faces said everything. She didn't even have to ask but she did anyways.

"Please... Beastboy is, awake?" Starfire asked begging for a yes.

Robin looked at her and his heart sank. He lowered his head and walked into the kitchen. Cyborg saw Robin couldn't handle telling Starfire the truth so he decided to speak for his masked friend.

"Sorry Star," Cyborg said with remorse, "he still hasn't woken up yet."

Starfire looked back down at her hands and began fiddling with fingers again. Cyborg saw this and tried to comfort her while Robin pulled out a mixing bowl and began preparing a pancake mix.

"Hey, don't worry," Cyborg said sitting next to Starfire, "this is BB we're talking about. I bet he'll wake up any second now and crack a joke about how he kicked the other guy's butt."

Cyborg looked down at Starfire with a small smile. She looked up at him and returned a similar small smile but it wasn't genuine. She was more concerned Beastboy might not wake up at all. She returned to fiddling with her fingers and her small smile disappeared.

Cyborg saw this and lowered his head as his small smile disappeared as well. He sighed, got up, and proceed to help Robin with breakfast.

The doors shot open again and all their head spun around to the door hoping for good news. And for the most part... It _was_ good news... but not what they were hoping for.

Terra stood in the doorway breathing hard from sprinting down the hallway.

"Beastboy!" She yelled. She looked from Titan to Titan seeing he wasn't in the room, "is he ok?!"

The Titans looked back to what they were doing leaving her with no answer. Terra began to shake with anxiety thinking that meant the worst had happened. Shortly following her question, Robin finished mixing the pancake batter, leaving Cyborg in charge to finish cooking and turned to face Terra.

"Its good to see you're awake," Robin said through a smile, "we were worried about you."

"Where is Beastboy?" Terra asked demanding an answer. She was becoming very anxious and didn't like how they were keeping her in the dark.

"Beastboy's fine," Robin said trying to calm her down, "he's resting in the medical room as we speak." He was trying to assure her that they weren't hiding anything from her.

"Where's that?" Terra quickly respond. She was relieved to hear he was ok but she needed to see for herself.

"Slow down," Robin said raising his hands trying to emphasize everything was ok, "I'll take you to him," he then gestured to the kitchen table where a seat was vacant next to Starfire, "but first I want to ask you a few questions about what happened last night." Robin sounded kind and considerate like he knew she was going through a rough time but this was really important and he needed answers.

Terra felt like she was being interrogated now. Like _she _was the criminal. It made her feel unwelcome and uncomfortable. She cautiously made her way to the seat next to Starfire and slowly sat down.

Robin sat across from Terra and just smiled for a moment while Cyborg continued cooking. He didn't want to rush her but also didn't know what to say to her. While they sat quietly the tension in the room started to grow until Starfire spoke up.

"I'm relieved to see you unharmed," Starfire said with a gentle warm voice, "I can not express the gratitude I feel for you're bravery yesterday," Starfire almost felt guilty that Terra had to confess to the past she barely remembered just to save them from the police. If she hadn't, not only would she have avoided this entire incident but she wouldn't be facing possible charges for her past crimes, "for your actions I am truly grateful. Thank you." Starfire looked deep into Terra's eyes and tried to stress just how grateful she really was.

"We _all_ owe you for saving our butts," Cyborg agreed. He was now flipping the fresh pancakes in the skillet he was holding on the stove, "I mean... half the dudes in jail were put there by us," he turned around to Terra with a small grin, "can't imagine they'd be happy to see us again." He chuckled and turned back to cooking.

"He's right," Robin add, "you didn't have to do that. So if you ever need help all you have to do is ask and we'll be there for you."

Terra's jaw slightly dropped. She couldn't believe it... Why were _they _thanking _her. _This whole thing she felt was her fault. If it weren't for her the Titans never would have been in this situation to begin with. She relaxed feeling a little more welcome but the tension in the room still told her something was wrong. She could only imagine what that meant.

"You shouldn't be thanking me," she confessed, "in fact _I _should be thanking _you._ After everything that me and my mom put you through you could have... you _should _have left me there with that..." She stopped short thinking about what kind of person would do this. Only one word came to mind, "...that psychopath."

"So you know who attacked you?" Robin asked hoping to have all his questions finally answered.

Terra nod her head looking down at the kitchen table where her cast rested, "you told me about him last time I was here," images of last night flashed through her mind when this insane man got right in her face staring her down with his single eye. She didn't remember him completely but it was a horrifying sight that she knew she had seen before, "he wasn't after _me," _her voice began to tremble as more and more images began flashing in her mind, "I was just the bait... He was after Beastboy." She looked up at the Titans with a serious look that shot fear into Starfire and Robin. Even Cyborg stopped what he was doing and turned around to gauge Terra's face. What he saw was mortifying.

Robins face slowly turned from fear to rage. He already knew exactly who it was but he felt he needed to confirm his suspicion.

"Did you happen to catch his name?" Robin asked sternly.

Terra looked to Robin. Her eyes had widened and looked like they had seen the devil himself. She didn't want to answer that question but she gathered her courage and uttered an answer barely louder than a whisper...

"Slade."


	35. Things Really Do Change

**A/N: To everyone reading, thank you! This chapter was super difficult for me to figure out how to word and arrange but I hope its good enough now. Sorry for the small delay. I still can't thank you enough for the reviews they seriously make my day every time I read them. So thank you! Please let me know what you think of this chapter. Like I said it was difficult so I wanna make sure it is good enough to be published. Thanks again for reading! Hope you enjoy!**

A tall stack of pancakes with a thick piece of butter melting on top sat in the center of the kitchen table. Four teens sat at the table, yet the tall stack of warm, golden brown circles remained untouched. No one had an appetite at the moment.

The room was dead silent with an dreary negative energy so thick it was suffocating. Terra stared at the table infront of her unblinking as if she was watching the nightmare she lived through last night over and over. The images were fresh in her mind and they were haunting her.

Robin's eyes twitched with rage as his clenched his jaw. He was furious that Slade would go to this level. After they teamed up to stop Trigon he hoped Slade would turn a good corner. But even _he_ knew that was just wishful thinking and in no way possible. He was even more furious at himself for helping save him.

Cyborg and Starfire both stared down at at the table as well. They didn't know what to think. Things just seemed to get worse and worse and they just couldn't catch a break. How much longer do they have to put themselves through this torture?

"Terra," Robin said with an intense seriousness in his voice. He didn't yell but his voice shook with rage as he was trying to keep it together, "tell me everything... What happened last night. Start from the beginning."

Terra looked up at Robin to see a fierce desire in his eyes. He was determined. He was angry. He had the look on his face that only Robin could have. The look of an unhealthy obsession.

"Terra..." Robin said trying to get her to speak.

Terra looked down and closed her eyes. This was a story she really did not want to tell. She sat up straight, gathered all her strength and proceeded to tell Robin and the others everything.

She told them about how she broke down telling her father about her newly discovered past. How her mom helped this strange woman spread lies about the kidnapping and how she screamed at her when she found out. She told them about how supportive her father was and how he was willing to drive her to the bank where they fought Dr. Light when the news showed the police arresting the Titans... Then she began to tremble as she went over all the horrific details about what happened next.

Her voice went dark as she explained how she found herself bound to a chair in a dark room. How this evil hooded person didn't want her but the one who _saved_ her... And how she was the bait to get him.

She told them about the woman locking a collar around Beastboy and how that woman completely changed her look the same way Beastboy changes into animals. She told them about the dozens of TV screens that showed everything the Titans had done in the past 6 months.

Then she told them them the most terrifying part of that night... Watching Beastboy get pummeled, tortured, and nearly killed in front of her eyes. How the collar sent him into tremors that looked so painful she screamed in agony herself.

Lastly, she told them about the pain in her head. About her eyes glowing yellow and everything around her shaking so intensely that it all began collapsing on top of her.

The Titans eyes were fixed on Terra. They were taking in every detail as if they were biological sponges soaking up every bit of information they could. Though, the information they continued to receive grew darker and darker driving their expressions in to a mixture of terror and resentment for their long forgotten enemy.

When Terra finally finished her story Starfire wrapped her arms around her tightly. She was devastated that Terra had been going through all this after everything she'd already been through. It broke her heart and she wanted to comfort Terra like how a mother would comfort her baby.

Terra was taken by surprise with this hug. But it felt warm and gentle coming from the alien with abnormal strength. Terra embraced the hug and wrapped her left arm around Starfire in return taking in the comfort she so desperately needed.

"Thank you," Robin sounded like he was offering her all his sympathy and compassion. He knew things were bad but this was another level beyond bad. His voice changed and he sounded depressed as if he was disappointed in himself, "and I'm so... so sorry, Terra. We should have been there... We should have been able to help," Robin wasn't just referring to last night. She didn't know this, but he was also referring to six months ago when she was brought back.

"It all makes sense," Cyborg said thinking back, "the police had a restraining device built specifically for each of us. Slade knows everything about us. If he could build mircoscopic probes that could attack red blood cells with the push of a button then think about what else he could make," he sounded like this fight was going to be impossible to win. He looked at Robin with a stern and serious expression, "Slade had everything planned out from the beginning... He was ready for us."

"And we'll be ready for him next time he shows his face," Robin said fiercely clenching his fists on the table, "he's not getting way with this. That's a promise."

Terra let go of Starfire and looked at Robin. She had never seen someone with this kind of devotion and hatred for a single person before. It almost reminded her of the mad man she encountered last night. It frightened her.

Robin looked up at Terra to see her startled face as Starfire released her hug. He realized just how scary his reaction must have been to her and immediately tried calming himself down. He shook off his emotions and put on a gentle face with half a smile and stood up. He walked around the table with an out-stretched hand to Terra.

"Come on," he said with a warm tone, "I have a _different _promise I intend to keep."

Terra's heart began pounding in her chest. She remembered what Robin said to her outside her house when she snuck out and didn't hesitate to take his hand as she stood. Once on her feet, Robin released her hand and began leading her into the hallway. He promised her she would see Beastboy again. And one thing Robin pride himself on, was being a man of his word.

Time ticked away. The day went on and Beastboy still remained asleep in the medical room. Raven still hadn't left the chair that sat next to his bed. She continued to watch his face closely looking for any signs that he would wake soon. But as time went on she continued to lose hope. The only thing that brought her hope now was the fact he was still alive.

Raven sighed heavily. Allowing herself to feel her emotions proved more challenging than she ever thought possible. Feeling fear, guilt, sadness... It was more painful than she could have ever imagined. However, feeling happiness, excitement, love... It was an overwhelming feeling she enjoyed so deeply that it drown away the pain from the others with ease.

But right now, the only thing that brought her those amazing feelings was laying in front of her. Laying unconscious. She wanted him back. She _needed_ him back.

The door slid open behind her and she turned her head to see Robin leading Terra into the room. Terra's face went into a depressed look of despair. She immediately blamed herself for this and was breaking down internally.

Raven felt the feeling of absolute dread radiating off of her and looked across the room as she raised her hand. A chair on the other side the room lifted into the air and landed gently on the other side of Beastboy across from her.

Raven looked back to Terra. She motionined her hand towards the chair indicating the chair was for her.

Terra looked at Raven a little confused. The last time they spoke it wasn't exactly a friendly conversation. She slowly walked to the chair and sat down across from Raven on the other side of Beastboy. Her eyes then fixed on him and the look of despair didn't leave her face.

Robin stood in the doorway a bit concerned. He knew that Raven had a bit of resentment towards Terra but the fact she offered her a chair made him feel much more comfortable about the situation.

Raven looked at Robin giving him a look as if asking him to leave her alone with Terra for a moment. Robin looked back at her still a little concerned but Raven nod her head, implying everything will be fine.

Robin nod back and stepped out of the room letting the door slide shut behind him.

Raven looked to Terra seeing the pain on her face. She could feel the room going cold from Terra's emotions. Raven thought back to when Terra put her freedom on the line to protect her own. In that moment she had forgiven Terra for everything she had done in her past. She wanted to make things right between them.

"Terra," Raven said trying to get Terra's attention.

Terra kept her eyes on Beastboy but turned her head slightly to Raven, acknowledging her name.

"I..." Raven hesitated. This was also knew to her. Pride was an emotion she had yet to encounter since she started allowing herself to feel.

Terra's eyes shifted from Beastboy to Raven. Her eyes were glossed over as if she wanted to cry.

Raven cleared her throat and began battling her pride as she began again.

"I..." She stopped short once more, "uh..." Raven looked down trying to figure out why she was struggling so much.

After a second of silence Terra shot a smile to Raven. She didn't know what Raven was trying to say but she could tell she had good intentions.

"You don't have to say anything," Terra said seeing Raven struggle with her words, "I don't know exactly what happened between us... but I hope you can forgive me." She looked back to Beastboy and her smile vanished instantly.

Raven's eyes widened slightly_. __That's exactly what I'm trying to say._ _Gaahh! Why is this so difficult?! _She thought to herself. In the diner apologizing to Beastboy came easy to her. However, she felt guilty. She was holding on to a great deal of regret when she realized just how bad she treated one of her closest friends. This wasn't the case with Terra. She didn't feel bad at all for the way she treated her. She didn't regret anything between her and Terra. She fully believed Terra was a bad person only to see now she was wrong. Terra really did deserve forgiveness maybe even a second chance. She clenched her fists and tried one more time.

"I... owe you an apology," Raven finally said almost just blurting it out. It was like she was ripping off a bandaid verbally. But Raven noticed once she finally did say it, it was like a huge wave of relief came crashing down on her as if extinguishing a painful fire burning inside her.

Terra looked back at her a little confused, "for what? Look at what I've done and all the things I did. I should be the one apologizing to you." Terra sounded sincere like she accepted all the responsibility for what has recently happened as well as everything in their shared past.

"You already have," Raven immediately respond, "the way you stepped in to protect us from the very people _we_ try to protect... It made me realize... That things really can change," Raven looked at Beastboy. She thought about all the changes he was going through... That she herself was going through. They weren't kids anymore. They were becoming young adults. She looked back at Terra who had returned her gaze to Beastboy once again. Raven could see she really did care about him. This wasn't some act to get back into the Titans. It was genuine emotion for another soul. Raven smiled and continued, "you're not the same person you once were. I can see that now. And I can't keep holding you responsible for the things you did when you were a different person."

Terra turned from Beastboy and their eyes met once more. The room went silent but the air around them grew warm with a soothing comfort radiating off both of them.

"So I hope _you_ can forgive _me_," Raven sent her a small but warm smile. She truly meant what she said and saying it out-loud made her feel felt like the world had been lifted off her shoulders.

Terra smiled the same warm smile Raven expressed. They both felt much better given the circumstances but the feeling didn't last long as they both turned their focus back to Beastboy. The room went silent once more and the warmth faded.

Just watching him lay there was torture to the both of them. They were hoping beyond hope that he would wake soon.

After a long and painful hour, the silence in the room was shattered by a groan as if someone in pain were just realizing they were seriously hurt.

Beastboy's eyes cracked and slowly began to open.


	36. Awakening

**A/N: To all my readers, I'm sorry I took a while on this chapter. I've been slacking on finding motivation to do literally anything. Its a struggle to get out of bed lately. No idea why. But I'm trying to keep good on my promise! I hope you like this chapter. As always leave me a review to let me know how I'm doing or how I can improve. Thanks again for reading! Hope you enjoy!**

The medical room was filled with a nervous excitment. Terra and Raven were ecstatic as they heard the first sign of life from the green shapeshifter laying in front of them.

"Beastboy?!" Raven said unable to contian her excitement. She jumped out of her chair leaning over the bed gazing down at Beastboy's face, "can you hear me?!"

Terra had also jumped out of her seat but was unsure what to say to him and remained silent leaning over the opposite side of the bed.

Beastboy moaned with pain as his eyes slowly began to open with strength. He lay on his back looking up. His vision was blurred but as they started to gain focus he realized he was looking up at the two beautiful faces of his favorite girls staring down at at him.

He looked from one girl to the other a few times. Seeing both of them in the same room seemed like an impossible feat.

"Oh crud..." Beastboy said weakly, "I knew it..."

The girls looked at him with concern as if he wasnt making any sense.

"I knew it..." he repeat himself, "I'm dead," Beastboy said with a sense of humor.

Both of the girls laughed at his confusion. They had tears of joy in their eyes as they both looked down at him with a grin from ear to ear.

"Wait..." Beastboy said even more concerned. He lifted his head off the pillow towards Raven, "Raven... Did you just... Laugh? At _my _joke? Oh no... I really am dead!" Beastboy groaned as pain shot through his body.

"Calm down you idiot," Raven smiled as she tried to conceal her laughter, "you shouldn't be making _any_ jokes in your condition."

Beastboy relaxed and laid his head back down. He looked over at Terra who was still giggling at the second joke Beastboy made.

"Terra...You're ok!" Beastboy said happily.

"Thanks to you," Terra said returning the happiness, "I can't thank you..." She looked at Raven, "_all _of you... enough."

Raven looked at Terra with a smile accepting the gratitude. She looked back at Beastboy to see him staring at Terra. It was a look Raven wished she could have. A look of desire. A look of compassion. His eyes were gentle and soothing as if hugging someone with his gaze.

Terra was looking at Beastboy as well with the same look in her eyes. It was clear to Raven there was still something there and her heart sank. She was filled with a feeling of discomfort and began feel unwelcome in the room.

"I'll... give you two a chance to speak alone," Raven said looking for an excuse to leave. She was exhausted. She had spent all night at his side and now that he was awake, he was staring at Terra and it hurt her. She felt she should try to get some sleep. However, she knew sleeping would be even harder after seeing what she just saw.

Beastboy looked at Raven and could see the pain on her face as she began to turn and head for the exit. His aches and pains vanished and a non-physical pain filled their place that was more excruciating than all his wounds combined.

"Raven," he struggled to sit up on an elbow as he called out to her while the door slid open in front of her, "wait..."

"It's fine Beastboy," Raven lied as she looked over her shoulder, "you two deserve a conversation after all this," she sounded sincere and caring like she really believed that. However, she wasn't ok. Far from it. But she meant it when she said they deserved a conversation together.

"But..." Beastboy didn't get to finish as the door shut behind her. His face held an expression of bafflement. He didn't understand why she would act like that, let alone be there when he woke up. He was beginning to wonder what her actions meant and why he was becoming so concerned about her.

Terra could see Raven was not ok. She left in a hurry right after Beastboy woke up which made no sense to her. She sat back down and looked back to Beastboy who also didn't understand what just happened.

"Is she... ok?" Terra asked seeing the concern in Beastboys eyes.

Beastboy remained silent and didn't answer that question as he stared at the door. His mind was clouded with questions and no answers. Helping him in the diner, finding him at the carnival, and now being there when he woke up. This was nothing like the Raven he knew. After a moment of pondering he looked at Terra and let a small smile appear on his face. However, his eyes expressed a completely different emotion than his smile presented.

Terra and Beastboy sat quietly and Beastboy adjusted the angle of his bed so he could sit up comfortably. It was painful at first but quickly became bearable. The silence continued until Terra decided to speak up breaking the awkward silence.

"So... how are you feeling?" She asked.

"Well..." Beastboy said thinking about that question, "I feel like I ran 1,000 marathons in a row. My whole body hurts whenever I move."

Terra knew what he meant. After watching his body shake with Termors when that collar was on his neck, she could tell his whole body and all of his muscles were flexing past their limit all at once. After something like that your muscles would be more than sore. They'd be in a surreal amount of pain.

"Other than that... I'm great!" He laughed. But it was obvious he wasn't being honest. Something else was deeply bothering him and Terra felt she knew what it was.

The images of Raven holding his hand to her forehead flashed in her mind. It was a faint memory just before she lost consciousness but it was clear enough to know it really happened.

"Beastboy?" Terra began to ask, "back when... Back before I... Were we..." She struggled to even finish her sentence. She feared what the answer could be.

"We were friends," Beastboy said thinking he knew what she was asking. It was the last question he remembered her saying before he stormed out of the room when Terra visit the Tower late at night, "you were a Titan. You were friends with all of us."

"That's not..." Terra began. Beastboy's face grew curious, "I mean..." Terra couldn't bring herself to ask the full question and decided not to finish. She smiled and looked at him trying to relax, "oh nevermind," she chuckled, "you don't need to worry about this. Right now you should worry about you."

"Terra," Beastboy insisted finally figuring out what she was asking, "if you're referring to _us,_" he looked down at his hands folded in his lap. He knew the truth but the turth hurt more than his injuries, "no... We weren't."

Terra's heart stopped in her chest. The answer she feared so much surfaced and now she felt like everything she did was the cause of it.

"Then why?" She asked as her emotions began to boil over, "why would you risk your life for me?!" She raised her voice almost shouting. She was angry he would do this if he really didn't care about her the way she thought, "if you really don't feel that way about me then why?!"

Beastboy looked at her and smiled understanding what she meant, "I _did_ feel that way about you Terra," he said softly trying to ease her emotions, "it's just..." He trailed off thinking carefully about what he said next, "it's just... You didn't feel the same way about me."

Terra eyes widened a little as she began to understand what was going on. She knew something happened between them but she never had any kind of confirmation of what exactly happened. But that one sentence was all she needed to hear. The answers were clear as day, plain and simple... She broke his heart.

"Well..." Terra started again, "what if... I do?" Terra wasn't denying her emotions for Beastboy. She knew he cared more about her than anything. Why else would he go through all of this? She would never forgive herself if she gave up someone like that.

Beastboy stared down at his hands. His face was expressionless like he didn't know how to answer that. The energy in the room was disturbing.

Terra saw this and after a moment of silence she already knew the answer and began to panic, "forget I asked that," she said trying to avoid hearing the answer herself.

"No," Beastboy said keeping on the subject. He continued to look down at his hands but he wanted to answer her, "I don't think I'll ever lose the feelings i had for you, Terra. But like you said... Things change, and you're not the girl I want you to be," he looked up at her with a broken heart on his face, "you have a new life now. You have a family and friends. It's a good life. It's just... not a life I can live with you."

Terra's heart shattered but she knew he was right. Even now when he had gone through hell and back, he was still looking out for her. Even when it wasn't in his own interests.

She looked down at her hands in her lap and tried to change the subject, "she's a lucky girl," she said earnestly, "I don't think she knows just how lucky she is to have you."

Beastboy looked at her with a raised eyebrow, "huh?" He asked softly, "who?"

Terra looked up at Beastboy to see his confusion was genuine. He really had no idea that Raven was falling for him. It made Terra feel a little better but she couldn't deny that it was clear as day to her... He also had feelings for her but he just didn't know it yet.

Terra chuckled at how cute this situation was. Maybe she couldn't have Beastboy but she was completely fine with keeping him as a close friend.

Dodging Beastboy's question she changed the subject once more, "well I still wouldn't mind grabbing a pizza now and then," she smiled at him offering some middle ground.

Beastboy returned the smile and nod his head forgetting what Terra just said completely, "as long as it's vegetarian, you got a deal." He said enthusiastically.

Raven made her way into the living area where the Titans were still sitting around an uneaten plate of pancakes. They were cold by now and the stack of butter was nothing but a melted stream across the golden brown cakes.

The team looked at Raven with a look of shock that she had finally left the medical room. Their faces were gripped with concern seeing her face had a look of heightened sadness.

She put their minds at ease and smiled to tell then the good news, "he's awake."

The Titans all rose to their feet with excitement ready to rush to the medical room to greet him but Raven raised her hands slightly telling them to slow down.

"I-I gave him and Terra a moment to speak alone," she said clarifying, "let's give them a second."

The team stopped in their tracks and looked at Raven with concern yet again. Only this time it was more concern for her than it was for their friend in the Medical room.

Robin spoke up trying to understand, "are you..."

"Ok?" Cyborg finished for him.

Raven looked from Titan to Titan seeing how concerned they were for her well being even after one of their best friends had nearly perished the previous night. It was obvious they all knew how she felt about Beastboy and they could see she was struggling with the emotional battle she was facing after she left him alone to speak with Terra. It filled her heart with gratitude. An overwhelimg amount of thanks for their concern. She knew now she wasn't alone in this battle. Her friend's were there for her and they wanted to help.

She closed her eyes as she felt them gloss over and she began to tremble where she stood. Raven let out faint whisper over her lips in response to their question.

"No," she answered honestly with a shakey voice.

"Friend," Starfire began as she floated to where Raven stood, "as joyous as it is to hear of Beastboy's return to health, we are deeply saddened for you," she wrapped her arms around Raven embracing her completely. The others walked up and stood behind Starfire to also show their support, "you need only ask and we will be there to assist you."

The others nod their heads in agreement from behind Starfire. Raven felt an enormous amount of comfort filling the room. She slowly wrapped her arms around Starfire and let herself lightly weep into her shoulder. The pain she felt for this whole situation was intense. First she almost lost him. All of him. Everything he was almost vanished right in front of her eye. She literally watched his heart stop.

Then when he woke up, after staying by his side all night, he looked at Terra the way she was longing to be looked at. As his friend she couldn't tell him how he should feel. Let alone tell him how _she _felt. The fear of rejection, the fear of losing him as a friend, the fear of losing him completely... it was too much to keep buried deep down anymore and it came pouring out of her.

The Titans sat in silence except for the sound of Raven's soft sobs. They didn't know what else to say to help. But then the silence vanished as the Tower bellowed with a loud ring. Someone was at the door...


	37. Skeletons

**A/N: To all my readers welcome back! This chapter was very difficult to write. It has a pretty serious theme that I hope isn't too serious but some younger readers probably won't understand it to an extent. I read some of your reviews and they made me laugh but more importantly they gave me the push I needed to keep writing so thank you! Please drop a fav/follow if you like what you read and leave me a review to let me know how I'm doing or what I could do better. Thanks again! Hope you enjoy!**

The living area of the Tower was rank with anxiety. The room went silent and Raven looked up from Starfire's shoulder as Starfire turned around to face the front door. They stared at it in anticipation wondering who could possibly be at their door now.

A second loud ring coursed through the Tower almost making them all jump. Raven wiped the tears from her face as Robin headed to the door. He seemed to have an idea of who was there but at this point he was expecting anything.

Cyborg stood behind Robin ready to back him up as the girls composed themselves near the hallway door. Robin turned around with his hand at the door seeing if everyone was ready.

The bell rang a third time. It was beginning to ring with less and less time inbetween each one.

When Robin saw everyone was indeed ready for who ever or whatever was behind the door he pressed a single button on the wall and it slid open in a hurry.

Carver stood outside the door looking back ar Robin rich with concern. Lindsey was behind him holding on to his arm with her head down. She couldn't seem to bring herself to look any of Titans in the face. The two looked like they hadn't slept the entire night.

Robin smiled and greeted them warmly, "Good to see you again. You got here much faster that I thought you would," he sounded almost impressed.

"We came as soon as we got your call," Carver respond looking around the room. When his eyes didn't find what they were searching for he grew more concerned, "where is she? You said she was ok, right?" His voice was desperate for reassurance.

"She's in the medical room," Robin said. This caused Lindsey to look up at the masked hero and both of their eyes went wide. Robin noticed the look of panic come over both their faces and he quickly began to clarify, "no, no, no. She's completely fine. I promise," he raised his hands and pointed his right thumb over his shoulder towards the hallway where the girls stood, "she's talking to Beastboy right now. He was injured pretty bad last night and just woke up," Robin was trying really hard to put their minds at ease.

The parent's faces relaxed a little as they let out a small sigh of relief. Robin motioned for them to come in and they quietly walked past him into the living area.

"You guys look like you could use a cup of coffee," Cyborg said with a grin. He couldn't help but notice the dark sacks under their eyes.

"Oh... Thank you but we don't want to intrude..." Carver said politely declining.

"Non-sense!" Starfire shouted as she flew over to them, "you are our guests. It would not be a burden at all," she gave them a very inviting smile but she kept a small distance trying to make sure they felt comfortable.

Cyborg had already began brewing a pot of coffee regardless and served each of them a cup and motioned towards the couch so they could relax.

Raven remained near the door to the hallway almost as if guarding it. She wasn't the best at entertaining guests let alone being social so she remained silent and observed from a distance.

The ring of the doorbell could be heard even in the Medical room. Beastboy and Terra looked towards the door both wondering what could be happening beyond the safety of the room they were in.

Beastboy sat for a moment before he started to get up off the bed wincing in pain with every move.

"What are you doing?" Terra said in shock, "you need to stay in bed!"

Beastboy finally got his legs off the bed as they hung over the side just out of reach of the floor, "you know," he chuckled, "normally I would totally agree. This dude needs his beauty sleep- _OW!_," he winced again as he tried pointing to himself. Any small movement sent a sharp pain through his muscles to the point it was almost unbearable, "but after everything that's happened there's no time to rest."

Terra looked at him and blushed. She was astonished as to what she was hearing but couldn't help but find his bravery and determination somewhat attractive.

Beastboy turned back to focus on getting out of bed. He slid of the edge touching his feet down only to feel an intense pain shoot from his feet up through his legs. He instantly collapsed to the ground, landing on his knees with a cry of pain.

Terra's blush vanished. Her face turned to concern and she rushed around the bed to see Beastboy trembling on of the ground, "look at yourself! You can't even walk!"

"Yeah... I kinda just figured that out," even when Beastboy was in devastating pain he was still trying to crack jokes, "I could uh... use a hand..." He sounded almost embarrassed to ask but he knew he couldn't get anywhere on his own.

"Let's get you back into bed," Terra said as she started to put his arm around her neck.

"No," Beastboy said softly groaning as his arm wrapped around her neck, "lets go check on the others."

Terra didn't like the sound of that. At this point he was just being reckless and was going to get himself injured even worse if not killed. Against her better judgment she nod her head and helped him to his feet. He could barely put any weight on his feet and Terra seemed to be holding him up with all her strength. Together they limped towards the door as Beastboy was trying to relax all the muscles he could to minimize the pain. He almost looked lifeless once more as his body was nearly limp hanging off Terra with his left arm around her neck.

Hot cups of coffee remained completely full in the hands of Terra's adopted parents. The living room was filled with an awkward silence and no one really knew what to say to each other after hearing Terra's story. At this point, the Titans didn't really know if they could really trust her parents or not.

Cyborg and Robin sat on the couch next to their guests with Starfire standing behind the couch where they sat. Raven still hadn't moved from her position in front of the hallway doors...

She could feel something in the room that made her uneasy. As if one of the parents had a painful emotion radiating off of them though she couldn't exactly pinpoint what it was.

The room finally gained some atmosphere when Carver decided to speak up.

"We're grateful for everything you've done for her," he began, "we always knew Terra wanted to remember her past but it seemed hopeless when nothing seemed to help. Thank you so much for taking the time to talk to her. It really helped her." He was thinking of the conversation in the car. Discovering her past may have been painful but accepting that the past is over and done with and the future is what really matters is a big lesson that every teen needs to learn as they grow up.

The Titans looked at each other wondering how to respond. They all felt a little guilty that they weren't there for Terra when she first came back but they never thought that talking to her would have been such a big deal. However, when they thought about it they realized that it was much more than just a small conversation. It was Terra's _life_. Literally everything about her. It didn't just help Terra but everyone close to her as well.

Robin looked back at the two adults sitting next to him. He noticed the athletic woman was more tense than before and gripped her cup tightly as if working up the courage to speak. After a moment she finally did...

"Please..." Lindsey spoke softly, barely louder than a whisper, "please forgive me. I'm can't tell you how sorry I am. I was just so worried about losing my _only_ daughter that I let my judgment become clouded by my fear." She sounded sincere and intelligent like she accepted all the responsibility for her actions.

Carver looked towards his wife with pride. This was the woman he remembered. The woman he married. She continued to look down at her cup but she was trembling with resentment towards herself.

"Because of my own stupidity, I almost lost her forever," her eyes closed as one tear after another started rolling down her cheeks.

The Titans curiosity peaked. They had no idea why she was acting like this. Any parent would do what she did when it came to their child. After all, the Teen Titans "_job_" wasn't exactly the safest, and trouble found them everywhere they went. Not something any parent would want to subject their child to.

Carver put an arm around her trying his best to comfort her before looking up at the Titans to explain why his wife was acting the way she was.

"You a might be too young to understand but..." He trailed off looking at his wife with a surreal amount of sympathy, "shortly after we got married about four years ago, we tried starting our own family. But after trying for a year we eventually found out that Lindsey couldn't bear a child."

Starfire and Raven's eyes went wide. Immediately their hearts ached for this poor woman. One of the most precious and cherished gifts a woman could ever possess and give to the world was stripped from her in a cruel twist of fate. It surely didn't just affect Lindsey. Carver made the decision of giving up the chance to have children of his own just to be with the woman he loved. For both of them it must have been hard.

"You didn't try to adopt?" Raven asked from across the room. Her voice was soft as if she was hurting for them.

"We talked about it, yeah," Carver answered, "but we still didn't really make a decision whether or not if we should. But then..."

"You found Terra," Robin finished for him. Starfire put her hands over her heart hearing this story. It was almost like a fairytale. But this particular fairytale wasn't exactly a happy one. She couldn't help but feel sorry for them.

"She was everything we could have ever asked for and more," Lindsey said through her tears. She gripped her cup so tight her hands were shaking. Any tighter and the cup could shatter in her hands.

"So you can imagine..." Carver continued, "finding a girl like Terra seemed like the answer to our prayers," he looked back at his wife, "she's everything we could have dreamed of. Losing her..." He stopped short, closing his eyes. It seemed as if the mere thought was killing him inside. When he opened his eyes he looked back at the Titans, "we wouldn't be able to live without her."

Robin and Cyborg looked at each other. It all made sense to them now. They finally understood just how hard this must have been for them. But then to trust the team with something as sensitive as this must have been even harder for them. The Titans felt humbled after hearing it.

The door to the hallway slid open behind Raven to reveal Terra with Beastboy hanging off of her. Both their faces showed an immense amount of sympathy as if they heard everything from the other side of the door.

"Terra!" Lindsey and Carver said together as they stood up. They didn't realize she could have been listening the whole time.

The whole room was facing the doorway where the injured teens stood. They all went into shock as Beastboy was barely standing on his own next to Terra. Raven finally snapped out of it and quickly moved to take Beastboy's other arm helping support his weight.

"Yo!" Cyborg said freaking out, "what do you think you're doing?! You should be in bed! You're in no condition to be-"

"Dude..." Beastboy interrupted trying to calm him down. He looked from Cyborg to Terra trying to point out that Terra heard everything and was completely heartbroken. Not heartbroken for herself... but for her adopted mother.

Cyborg's shock vanished and he looked back at Terra's parents who were both staring back at their daughter. They seemed so relieved to see she was ok but they sat completely frozen in place wondering just how much Terra might have heard. Cyborg realized that the family had never once talked about this and now everything had come spilling out. There were no secrets left between them.

"I... uh... Better go check on BB," Cyborg said shyly. He crossed the room to take Beastboy from Terra and she didn't even seem to notice even when Beastboy moaned in pain while Cyborg took his arm from her. She just stood there in a bewilderment.

"Mama?" Terra softly said with her eyes still wide.

Raven looked past Beastboy towards Terra and couldn't help but feel sorry for her. She was emitting a strong emotion. Such a powerful emotion that she didn't even know what emotion she was feeling. It almost frightened Raven that people were capable of feeling like that.

Cyborg looked at Raven and nudged his head towards the hallway signaling her to help get Beastboy back to medical. Raven nod her head and started helping Beastboy walk back to the bed where he should be resting. Beastboy didn't resist. At this point he knew he was in no condition to help anyone anyways and accepted that he'd just have to wait until he recovered his strength. Not to mention Terra and her parent's needed a moment alone after hearing all that.

The door slid shut behind Terra and she ran across the room to where her parents were. Her parents also ran around the couch to greet their little girl. They met half way in the center of the room and Terra wrapped her arms around her mother and began balling into her her bosom.

"I'm so sorry mama! I'm so sorry! I had no idea!" She sobbed.

Lindsey had wrapped her arms around Terra squeezing her tightly. Nothing could seperate them at that moment. Not even Trigon himself.

"No baby," Lindsey voice was trembling, "_I'm_ sorry. This is all my fault."

"We should have told you from the beginning," Carver said wrapping his arms around both of them. He stood behind Terra squeezing her in between himself and his wife as if they've finally been reunited for the first time in years.

Terra continued sobbing relentlessly. This was more personal than she ever imagined. It was almost too much for her to take in. She is and always will be their _only _daughter.


	38. A Turning Point?

**A/N: To all my readers thanks for your patience! I've been trying to figure out how I was gonna make this work for the ideas I have at this point in the story. The best way I think I can do that is by breaking the scene into 2 or 3 parts. So it might get a little confusing as I jump around in the following chapters. But I hope you like it regardless! As always leave me a review if you know how I can better improve this story or my writing in general. Always open to constructive criticism. Please drop a fav or follow if you like what you read. Thanks again!**

Starfire and Robin stood next to each other in the living area staring at their guests. Terra and her adopted family still hadn't let go of each other. The two Titans continued to observe the most heart warming reunion they had ever seen.

Starfire looked at Robin a little brighter with a sparkle in her eye. She had come to a realization that she wanted something similar to what was in front of her. A family of her own.

Robin had a look of inspiration on his face. He knew now that everything they just went through, all the pain and suffering, was worth it. Just to see this moment here. Now more than ever Robin wanted to protect the innocent people of this city. The people like the family in front of him. He wanted to save lives. He wanted to make sure no one else went through what he did as a young child.

Suddenly a warm touch filled Robin's hand. He looked down to his left hand to see Starfire gripping his hand with her own. He lifted his gaze to see her face with that same sparkle in her eye and a soothing yet passionate smile on her face.

Robin smiled back at her and wrapped his hand around hers squeezing tightly. He could see something in Starfire he had only seen once before when they were stranded on a distant planet after Starfire lost her powers. He felt life had more purpose than just being a hero. Proof of it was right in front of his eyes. The proof was written in Starfire's eyes.

"I still owe you an apology," The two Titans were brought out of their trance by Lindsey's voice. They both turned their heads to see her looking at the them from over her husbands shoulder.

Lindsey released herself from the grip of both Terra and Carver and stepped towards the heroes, "as I said earlier, this is all my fault. If I hadn't helped that lawyer convince the city you were criminals, none of this would have happened."

Robin and Starfire looked at each other like they understood now. Lindsey was so adamant about protecting Terra she went to extreme lengths to keep them away from her. But it was a trap from the beginning.

"You don't have to apologize," Robin said accepting her apology, "Terra explained everything. You were manipulated by this cities most sinister villain. There's no way you could have known."

Lindsey's eyes went wide. She wasn't expecting to hear that but it dawned on her that she really was the villain in this whole situation. She couldn't believe it. A mixture of emotions started rushing to her face and she didn't know how to react.

"But... how?" Lindsey asked trying to make sense of it.

"Madam Rouge," Robin said with a bad taste in his mouth, "a woman from the Brotherhood of Evil. She could take the form of anybody and mimic their voices flawlessly. She could disguise herself as your closest friend and you wouldn't even know it." Robin looked away and thought back to his battle with her when he was helping Hot Spot. He didn't know it then, but she had taken the form of Hot Spot and he couldn't even tell. She was by far the strongest villain he had ever faced. He looked back up at the distraught woman and continued to explain, "from what Terra told us, we can only assume Slade recruited her and used her power to control you... and the city."

"Its true," Terra said taking her hand and standing at her side, "they used you to get to the Titans." Her face was soft and gentle as if she understood how her mother felt. She felt the same way when the Titans had told her about her past with Slade. She let out a quiet chuckle and looked down to her feet, "I guess that's something we have in common now."

"Please, no more sad talking," Starfire said trying to keep it together. She removed her hand from Robin's and tried to bring the conversation to a discussion about what to do next, "we must find a way to battle this evil to ensure they can not do this to anyone else ever again!"

Robin grew a proud smile. She had taken the words right out of his mouth. His admiration for her grew even more and he was getting fired up as he watched her passion for peace and justice explode from her.

Robin slammed a fist into the open palm of the opposite hand, "Starfire's right. No one is safe until we bring them down. And _we will _bring them down."

Lindsey's face turned from shock to guilt. She couldn't believe she ever thought these teens were no good for the world. Being here in front of them made her realize that, if anything, the world needed more of them.

The room went silent as another ring at the door echoed through the Tower. Starfire and Robin locked eyes. They weren't expecting anyone else. The number of visitors they were getting was becoming... suspicious.

Robin walked to the front door once more as the room quietly waited in anticipation for him to answer. He hit the button on the wall and the door slid open. Robin was struck with a twinge of fear when he saw who was on the other side.

"Good morning, Robin," a tall man with a t-shirt and blue jeans was standing at the door with dark sunglasses covering his eyes.He peered into the Tower from behind his shades and saw Terra standing with her family unharmed inside. He grew a wide smile, "I'm glad to see you made it out safely and also successfully rescued miss Kane."

Robin raised an eyebrow wondering if this was going to get ugly, "I remember you... Last time I saw you I was in handcuffs," Robin spat with angst, "here to arrest us again... Detective?"

Detective Smith laughed. He removed his sunglasses and looked Robin in the eyes, "I'm not here as a _detective,_" he sounded like he was happy about that statement, "after I let you five go free to chase down... whatever that thing was... I got quite an ear-full from the chief."

Robin's face relaxed. He knew what the detective was saying and was glad there was still someone in the city that still trusted in the Titan name.

"I've been suspended for insubordination pending investigation from another department." Even though Smith's career was on hold he seemed like he had no regrets in his decision to let the Titans go. He actually seemed glad he did.

"What brings you here then?" Robin asked trying to get to the point.

"May I come in?" The suspended detective asked politely.

Robin looked back to the others. Starfire seemed to feel like it was safe to trust him and the Kane family didn't really see a problem with him either. After thinking about it, Robin decided to trust him and let him in. He felt it was the least he could do after he let them go, risking his entire career. Robin motioned a hand towards the living area telling the man he could come in.

"Thank you," Smith walked past Robin into the living area as the door slid shut behind him. He walked straight up to Terra and took a knee in front of her so he was looking up at her, "what you did took a lot of courage. I'm sorry there was nothing I could do to help," he lowered his head breaking eye contact. He seemed to have the same mentality as Robin. He truly wanted to help people and felt like he was failing when he couldn't. He looked back up at Terra with a smile on his face, "but I can't tell you how relieved I am to see you are ok."

Terra was confused. This was an officer of the law and she confessed to a very serious crime. If anything, she was expecting to get arrested not complimented.

As if reading Terra's mind, Carver stepped forward and spoke up with concern, "are you here to arrest her?" He stood behind her and put his hands on her shoulders, looking down at Smith who was still on a knee.

"As I told Robin earlier... I'm not currently an officer at the moment," he stood up to greet Carver but his smile turned serious, "but even if I was ordered to arrest her I'm not sure I could go through with it. Especially after seeing what happened last night." His expression turned to sadness as he thought about what to say next, "unfortunately... A confession like that won't get swept under the rug so easily. Eventually, the JCPD will issue a warrant for her arrest. My best advice to you would be to get out of the city while you still can."

Robin had returned to where he stood earlier next to Starfire. He understood how Detective Smith felt. After everything he's gone through with Beastboy, he didn't think he could ever bring himself to actually arrest his friend. After getting lost in thought for a moment, Robin crossed his arms and looked up at Smith to get some answers from him.

"I doubt you're here to just tell us you _don't_ think we're the bad guys," Robin sounded as if he was asserting a question that demanded an answer.

Smith turned to Robin who still had his arms crossed and smiled once again, "actually... that's exactly why I'm here. But I thought it might interest you to know I'm not the only one..."

Robin and Starfire both dawned a face of surprise and looked at each other puzzled. This sounded like good news but they no idea what he meant.

"Have you seen the news lately?" Smith asked rhetorically. He could tell buy their reaction that the Titans obviously had no idea what he was talking about. His question was less of a question and more implying them to look at the news.

Starfire float over the couch to the coffee table and picked up the remote. She pressed the power button and the giant tv sprang to life with the news.

The screen displayed an anchor talking about them... but it wasn't hostile. They weren't talking about the Titans as if they were the problem anymore.

The screen then changed to a video of Terra confessing her crimes right before Slade's omnidroid landed behind her and snatched her off her feet running off with her. After it started taking off with her the camera caught Robin yelling to the detective that they need to go save her. The restraints on them dropped to the ground and they took off at full speed after the monster.

The anchor could be heard talking over the video that played:

_"After the shocking turn of events that unfolded last night in front of, what appeared to be an attempted bank robbery, we took to the streets to see what YOU thought of the Teen Titans..."_

The screen changed again and showed street interviews of everyday citizens expressing how they felt about the Teen Titans.

The first was a man who seemed skeptical about everything,_"if you ask me... they set the whole thing up. If that girl really did take over the city how do we know she's not working with them?"_

Everyone in the living area looked at each other thinking Smith was crazy. If that's what the people thought then the city obvioisly still thought they were criminals. But their minds started to change as the interviews continued...

The second was of a different man who seemed a little more optimistic,_"that little girl taking over the city? No way. I don't buy it. Something else is going on here and someone needs to save her."_

The third was of a young woman who worked at the old video store before it closed,_"they stopped a bank robbery... Now they're chasing down a kidnapper? They sound like heroes to me."_

Then a familiar face appeared on the screen. It was the woman that Robin had saved from the mugger. She was holding her little girl on her hip. The little girl was camera shy hiding her face in her mothers shoulder as she spoke to the camera, _"t__hey're not anything like what we've been told... Robin saved me and my little girl yesterday. We owe him our lives. If he's watching I just want to say... Thank you."_

Robin's expression held a look of gratitude and his heart felt like a weight lifted from it. His eyes relaxed and almost looked sad but he was more happy than anything. He finally started making a name for himself.

"Looks like you made a lasting impression," Smith said with a girn, "as you can see people in the city are divided on what to think... but there are more people who think better of you now."

Starfire looked back at Robin with stars in her eyes. She felt so proud to have Robin as the leader of their team, "oh this is marvelous news!" She exclaimed, "now we may finally track down, the Slade _and_ his Madam Rouge!"

Robin raised a hand to his chin and thought carefully for a moment. They were finally gaining ground but they couldn't risk screwing it all up. They had to take this slow but every moment they delayed Slade would gain ground as well. But if they went after him now it would surely lead to more casualties and damages to the city which could threaten their relationship with the city for the worse. He wasn't sure what to do next.

Starfire's excitment vanished as she saw Robin going deeper and deeper into thought.

"Robin?" She asked, wondering what he was thinking.

The room then focused on him as if the world was resting on his shoulders. Robin could feel the pressure from the room. He was torn between going after Slade and earning the cities trust again. Everytime he thought about one the other would halt his thought process conflicting with his ideas.

After a long moment of silence he lowered his hand from his chin and looked up at the room and spoke softly.

"I need to make a call." With that he turned his back on the rest of the room and headed towards the hallway. He stopped at the door and turned back to face the room once more, "Star, can you keep you friends company while I'm gone?"

Starfire's face went bright red and she began to giggle nervously, "I... um... will try." She raised a hand to the back of her head knowing earthly accommodations was not her area of expertise.

Robin nod his head and the hallway door slid open in front of him. As he disappeared into the hallway it slid shut behind him leaving the rest of the room in an awkward tension.

"I had better get going anyways," Smith said breaking the tension. He started to head for the exit but he turned back to the Kane family just before he reached the door and reminded them of what he said earlier, "think about what I said," he uttered softly, "it might be best to get out of the city until we get everything sorted out."

Terra looked away from him and thought for a second before responding to him, "no. I'm not running from my past anymore."

Smith smiled with admiration. He put his sunglasses back on and opened the front door, "I'll do as much as I can to keep you out of the spotlight. If you plan on staying, just keep your head down and your nose out of trouble... Good luck miss Kane." He sounded sincere like he truly wanted her to get away from all this. As if he knew what it was like wanting a clean slate.

Terra felt a little better about her situation knowing she had someone like Detective Smith on her side but she was still worried about what was to come in the future.

As the door shut behind him and the Tower locked itself down, Starfire let out a small sigh of relief now that she only had to entertain Terra and her parents. But she still didn't know what to do...

"Um..." She stuttered, "D-do you wish to engage in the game of videos?" She laughed nervously.

Robin was walking through the hallway with his head down, trying to think of what to say. When he got to his room the door rushed open. He entered quickly and the door closed behind him. He turned and locked the door before heading to his desk where his phone sat.

He stared at it intensely still wondering if he should even make this call. But he was stuck and had no idea how he should proceed. He needed guidance.

He took a deep breath and leaned over his desk with palms flat against the surface supporting his weight. Reaching forward, he pressed the speaker phone option and began typing a number he knew by heart on the keys.

The phone began ringing and his room was eerily quiet as the tone filled the empty space. His expression only got more intense as the tones continued to drone from the speaker.

The tones finally can to an abrupt stop as an old man's voice answered the at the other end.

_"Master Grayson," _the voice said, _"I'm delighted to recieve your call."_

"Hey Alfred," Robin said softly almost embarrassed, "I need to talk to him."


	39. Shared Pain

**A/N: To all my readers thank you! Really quick I just wanna give a shout-out to Anonymous for all their reviews. I think they have left a review on almost every chapter. Seriously, you make writing so much more fun than you think! All of your reviews are always much appreciated though! I can't thank you guys enough. So please keep it up! I promise to keep the story coming. School just started this week so I might start falling behind... but don't worry I'm still committed to this story and I won't be abandoning it! Again thank you! As always drop a fav or follow if you like what you read as well as leave me a review to let me know how I can get better or if you know how I can improve the story! Hope you enjoy!**

The hallway door slid shut behind Raven Beastboy and Cyborg. On the other side they heard Terra yelling as she ran to her adopted parents. She had been through a lot and the three Titans didn't blame her for having this reaction. Especially after overhearing the heartbreaking story her parents had shared with them.

Beastboy was held up by Cyborg and Raven and they were practically carrying him back to the medical room. His feet would move as if they were walking but he could barely put any weight on them without being in visible pain.

When they finally arrived back at the medical room Cyborg propped him up on the bed. Beastboy let out a small groan but then relaxed having no strain on his body while he sat.

"Come on man," Cyborg said disappointed, "you know better than to go walking around in your current condition." Cyborg looked back at the machines looking at the last reading they took before Beastboy got up and began running another scan on his Beastboy's body to see if he had any delayed side effects or damages.

"I know," Beastboy said as Cyborg reconnected the monitors to his bare skin, "honestly, I was more worried about you guys." He looked over to Raven who stood in front of him.

She looked concerned but happy. Happy that he was walking around but concerned by how hard it was for him.

He smiled at her as if thanking Raven for her concern. Raven saw this and she grew angry. Almost furious. She raised her voice and started yelling at him.

"You idiot! What were you thinking?!" she leaned over him as if scolding a child, "first you run away, _twice. _Then you run off into the dark when you knew it was a trap! Then you almost die! And now you're trying to walk around when you have haven't recovered?!" Dark flames started to form around her. She was not happy with how he has been acting. He was being extremely selfish in her eyes, "you don't think we're all hurting right now?! You don't think this hasn't been hard on anyone else?! If you were really worried about us then you wouldn't be so careless with your life! Do you have any idea what you've put me through?!"

Beastboy's small smile disappeared and he sunk his head into his shoulders like a turtle retreating into its shell. He was looking up at Raven with puppy eyes as she lashed out at him. He had no idea why she was acting like this and it terrified him.

"She's right, B," Cyborg agreed as he continued his scan, "it's not just her either. This entire thing has been a nightmare for all of us."

Raven calmed herself as she realized what she just said, "t-that's what I meant," she immediately add on to the end of Cyborg's comment, "what you put _all of_ _us _though." She tried to correct herself. The dark flames dissipated and she backed off the shapeshifter.

"You're in really bad shape, man," Cyborg said trying to get them to refocus. The computer screen he was looking at showed a picture of Beastboy's body both front and back. Red dots were blinking in every major muscle group of his body. His arms, his legs, his chest and back. They were littered with red dots indicating where damages were, "you have torn muscles everywhere. It looks like they were flexing way past their capacity all at once. You won't be able to move for a while. If you do, its only gonna get worse." He stopped at looked down at him, "it's a miracle you're even alive. That kind of damage could only be caused by a really powerful electrical current."

Beastboy lowered his head and thought about it, "that makes sense," Beastboy replied, "it felt like I was trying to catch my breath the entire time they were..." He trailed off as the memories came back to him.

Raven studied him closely. She hadn't heard the full story yet. She wanted to know what happened. She wanted to know _why _this happened.

"What happened?" She asked. Her voice held a calm and caring tone. Much different than the one she had just moments ago.

Beastboy remained silent. He couldn't believe he failed. Again. He was going to save Terra. He promised himself. But yet again Slade had beaten him.

Cyborg noticed how hard it was for Beastboy to explain what happened and decided to fill Raven in with the story Terra had given them.

"It's Salde," Cyborg spoke, "he's back."

Raven's eyes widened and her blood began to boil. She thought back to when Slade was working for her father. When he was terrorizing her friend's just to get to her. She felt like she should have destroyed him when she had the chance.

"He's not alone though," Cyborg continued, "he has a friend."

"Madam Rouge." Beastboy whispered under his breath. He was angry too. Just when he thought he was done with the Brotherhood of Evil for good. Here they were. In his home town causing mayhem.

"From what Terra told us they put some kind of collar on you," Cyborg continued, "looks like that collar acted like an electric chair. If you had tried to change or move it would have been useless. Not to mention..." He stopped short thinking it might not be a good idea to tell them.

"What is it?" Raven asked. She was almost afraid to ask but she had to know.

Cyborg looked at her with a serious look. He had the look of complete fear in his eyes like they were way beyond lucky.

Raven's eyes grew intense as she waited for Cyborg to speak. She glared at him as if telling him to answer her.

Cyborg sighed as he lowered his head and finally let it out, "if he had been in that thing any longer..." He looked back up at Raven to emphasize how serious he was, "I'm talkin just a minute longer, maybe even seconds... There's no way he would have survived. With his muscle tissue starting to tear apart, the blood flow to his heart would have been cut off."

Raven's heart shattered. She could barely breathe. The whole point since this entire thing began was to destroy Beastboy. They first attacked his emotions. Then when he was vulnerable they made their move to annihilate him, and for a moment... They succeeded.

"Yeah," Beastboy said softly. He didn't sound the least bit surprised, "they wanted me gone... For good."

The room went silent for a long and gloomy moment until a ring from the doorbell could be heard from the hall. The three of them looked at the door wondering who could possibly be at the Tower now.

"We're getting pretty popular aren't we?" Beastboy laughed trying to lighten the mood.

"You stay here and rest. I'll go see who it is." Raven said strictly. She still had some anger behind her voice. She made it sound like Beastboy didn't have an option.

The door slid open and shut quickly behind her as she b-lined to the living area. Cyborg watched her leave in a hurry and was wondering what was going through her head.

"So... uh... Why is she acting so weird?" Beastboy asked Cyborg hoping to get a little insight from his best friend.

Cyborg shook his head with a small smile as he started to prepare a syringe with a medicine of his own creation.

"Dude you might be able to turn into any animal... but you are just as dumb as them too," Cyborg said with a laugh.

"Oh come Cy!" Beastboy exclaimed, "one second she hates me, the next she cares about me, then the next she hates me again! -_OW_ " Beastboy winced in pain as he blurt out the words, "what is her deal?!"

"You're lucky the rest of us aren't as mad as she is," Cyborg said expressing his frustration as well. It was clear that Cyborg was also angry at Beastboy's actions as well, "lay down." He instructed as he pat the bed in its up right position.

Beastboy thought about what Cyborg said as he laid back on the bed toughing out the pain. He had been so focused on Terra and his own personal battles that he completely disregard the feelings of his bestfriends and what they might be going through. It made him feel awful.

Cyborg held the syringe to Beastboy's arm, "I'm giving you an injection of my own design," Cyborg began to explain getting them off the subject, "this will act as a catalyst for your white blood cells which should increase their mitosis rate."

"Ok?" Beastboy said confused, "you know science wasn't my best subject," he sounded like Cyborg had said a bunch of gibberish to him.

"This will help you heal faster," Cyborg spoke slow as he pushed the syringe's plunger down. He was exaggerating his words trying to mock Beastboy's lack of education.

"Oh..." Beastboy said sharply with a high pitch voice feeling embarrassed.

Raven was heading down the hallway with her head down. Her mind was filled with voices that wouldn't stop.

_How could he do this to us? Why is she still so important to him? I though he was getting past this. I thought he... I thought WE... had a moment where..._

Her mind flashed back to the carnival where she found him in the house of mirrors. Images of his face drawing closer and closer to hers flood her vision. Up until the moment their lips almost touched before Starfire had interrupted them.

_What was I thinking? How could he ever want someone like me? Someone as creepy as me?_

Her thoughts were halted as she noticed Robin approaching from the opposite direction. She stopped in the hallway wondering where he was going.

"Robin? Where are you-" Raven didn't even finish.

Robin had his head down buried in thought. He was so focused on whatever was in his mind that he didn't even notice Raven standing in the hallway.

_I guess I'm not the only one with a lot on their mind. _Raven thought to herself.

When she finally got to the living area the first thing she noticed was the massive tv displaying news coverage on the mixed feelings about the Titans. It wasn't great news but it was better than before. It brought a spark of hope to her. Maybe all of this wasn't for nothing afterall.

"Raven!" Starfire shouted with excitement, "I am so thankful you have arrived!" She sounded a little panicked but seeing Raven brought her some relief, "I have been tasked with the mission of giving our friends, the company. Might you wish to assist me?"

Raven's expression instantly went to "_are you kidding me?_" She wasn't social or knew how to entertain guests. Starfire's guess was as good as hers. Maybe even better. But she felt sorry that Starfire was left alone to deal with Terra and her family. She let out a huge sigh with a slightly annoyed groan and levitated over the couch to sit next to Starfire as they all watched the news.

As Raven crossed the room she noticed no one else was in the Tower. She knew she didn't imagine the doorbell. Someone else was here earlier. They seemed to be gone now though. She couldn't seem to get an idea of who it could've been.

"Was anyone else here earlier?" Raven asked to Starfire as the sound of the tv blocked the awkward silence.

"Yes. The man from last night that had taken us prisoner before Terra's abduction," Starfire said happy that someone was willing to make conversation.

"The detective that let us go?" Raven said trying to clarify.

"Indeed. I believe his name was Smith." Starfire respond.

"What did he want?" Raven continued to ask.

"Merely to inform us of what is on the news." Starfire said lazily pointing to the screen.

Raven looked back up at the screen. Tensions in the city were much better towards them. However there's still a taste of distrust for the Titans. Things were still bad but at least it was a start.

"Perhaps now things may go back to normal?" Starfire asked looking to Raven hoping to get some positive reinforcement.

Raven looked back at her. She could see how badly Starfire wanted things to go back to the way they were. Raven couldn't help but give her what she wanted.

"Maybe Star," she spoke as friendly as she could, "this is definitely a step in the right direction."

Starfire's eyeyes lit up with hope. She was overjoyed to hear that from Raven.

"So that's all he wanted?" Raven asked again, "he wasn't here for anything else?"

"If you're asking if he was really here to arrest anyone, then no," Terra's voice broke the air before Statfire got a chance to speak. She was gentle and only wanting to engage in the conversation from the other side of Starfire on the couch, "though... he might have told me I should... sorta... kinda... try... to get out of the city while I can." Terra finished quickly trying to make it seem like it was no big deal.

"Why?" Raven asked. She was genuinely curious. After getting kidnapped right in front of the police you'd think the poor girl had suffered enough.

"He said a confession like mine wouldn't get swept under the rug so easily," Terra looked Raven in the eyes showing a very serious face, "he said it wouldn't be long before they put a warrant out for my arrest."

Raven felt a shiver climb her spine. If they were willing to arrest her for nearly destroying the city... What would the city do to Raven if they found out she ended the world as we know it?

"They can't," Raven said as if applying it to herself, "you're just an innocent kid who was corrupted by an evil man."

"That might be true," Terra said as she lowered her head, "but once they find out my powers are back..."

Her parents instantly locked on Terra's face searching for answers. Her face held no sign of doubt anywhere. After gauging their daughters reactions for a long moment they knew for a fact that Terra was absolutely sure that her powers had returned. This worried Carver and Lindsey immensely. What if she decided to get back into the hero business? Would they ever see her again?

Raven was taken by surprise. She had completely forgot about Terra's powers. If they had returned and she couldn't remember anything from her past... could she control them? Or was she just as dangerous as her past self, if not more dangerous? If this got out to the public there would be panic throughout the entire city.

"Can you activate them?" Raven asked looking for answers. She wanted to know if this could be helped or if it was just as hopeless as shooting in the dark.

Terra shook her head. She truly didn't know how they worked or what triggered them. She only knew that she completely destroyed the factory last night. Then the dream she had right after. She knew something similar had happened in her past.

Raven could see the struggle on Terra's face. The level of emotion Terra was emitting was almost suffocating. Raven couldn't help but feel sorry for her even more. Something else was going on with her. Something serious. Something... Raven could relate to.

"Terra," Raven said sternly, "what are you not telling us?"


	40. Fear of the Past

**A/N: To all my readers, welcome back! Thank you for following me on this story. I have been loving all your reviews and can't tell you how much I appreciate them! Please continue to leave more reviews to keep me in check. If there's any part of the story you think doesn't exactly fit a character or seems completely unrealistic let me know! I'd like to fix that. But if you like what you read let me know so I can continue to make it worth while. As always drop a fav or follow and I hope you enjoy! Thanks again!**

All eyes were on Terra. It seemed as though the room was completely silent and the news playing on the tv was nothing but white noise to everyone.

Starfire wasn't sure what Raven meant when she asked Terra what she was hiding. But Raven was rarely wrong about these kinds of things so Starfire kept quiet and waited for Terra's response. However, Terra seemed to be distraught. Like she didn't want to answer. No. Like she didn't want to _know _the answer.

"Sweety?" Carver said to her. He sat on the other side of Lindsey who sat next to Terra.

Terra continued to stare at the floor in front of her. She wasn't sure how to tell them what she was feeling or what she was seeing in her mind. But it was clear to her that these dreams weren't just dreams. It was exactly like when Beastboy had spoke to her at school and dreams of her past began surfacing and haunting her at night. Terra wasn't sure how she should handle them this time though. This one seemed way more serious. She didn't even know if she even wanted to remember it.

"You have nothing to fear," Starfire encouraged her, "whatever it is you may be facing, you need not face it alone." She put her hand on Terra's shoulder, "we, your friends, are here to help."

Terra turned her head towards Starfire. Something about Starfire's smile always seemed to comfort whomever she smiled at with a sense of vulnerability. A kind of comfort that allowed you to let your guard down and surrender to her kindness. It was a gift Starfire didn't even realize she had. Terra felt a bit more at ease, but returned her gaze back to the floor and continued to contemplate whether or not to answer.

"I..." Terra hesitated, "I... don't think it's safe."

"You don't think _what's _safe?" Raven shot back trying to get a clear answer.

Terra looked over to Raven. Her face held a serious look but it wasn't in any way threatening. She more or less wanted to help Terra and Terra could see that.

"For you... Far all of you," Terra respond looking to each person in the room one after another. Her voice was nearly trembling like she didn't want to believe herself.

"What do you mean?" Lindsey asked trying to get a better understanding.

"I think I know," Raven said answering for Terra.

Terra's gaze snapped towards Raven and her eyes locked on Raven's face, stricken with a sense of fear.

"You remember something don't you?" Raven said softly as if she understood Terra's pain, "something you had no control over. Something that brought a lot of suffering to the people you cared about."

Terra's eyes relaxed. They never left Raven's face but she could clearly tell Raven already knew. Maybe not everything. But she knew enough.

"I think... I saw my mom," Terra looked over to Lindsey and clarified, "my _real_ mother." She returned her gaze to raven and continued, "she was screaming, telling me to run. Then the same thing that happened last night... My head started hurting... then my eyes..." She trailed off and looked away as she went over the images in her head.

"Began to glow?" Raven finished for her.

Terra closed her eyes and nod her head. Raven had heard enough. She knew exactly what could happen now and she had to do something to prevent an inevitable disaster.

Raven looked away from Terra and went deep into thought. She knew this was dangerous. One small mistake and the entire city could be destroyed. But even if she didn't help, there is still the possibility that Terra could accidentally level the city anyways. After thinking for a long minute, Raven finally came to a decision.

"Alright..." Raven said to Terra. Terra raised her head and looked at Raven with a heavy sadness, "I'm going to help you gain control." Raven sounded like she was serious. Like she was willing to go to extreme lengths to help Terra. As if she knew what Terra was going through.

Terra's face slowly turned to a mixture of shock and happiness. As if she was thanking Raven without speaking. But she had no idea how Raven could even help. She didn't even expect Raven to help at all.

"H-How?" Terra said filled with hope.

"I don't know," Raven replied honestly looking down at the ground. She had an idea... but it would be dangerous and they would have to do it somewhere far away, "but we _will _figure something out." She sounded confident. Like she had no doubt in her mind they could make it happen.

This brought a strange comfort to Terra. She was horrified what she might learn about herself. Like what she learned from the Titans about their shared past. However, her past that only she would know, could turn out to be even worse than she imagined. And that horrified her.

"We don't have much time," Raven said looking out the window. It was already past noon and the day was already half over, "but the sooner we get started the better." Raven stood up. Suddenly her legs began to tremble and her knees nearly buckled under her before she stumbled and caught herself.

"Raven!" Starfire shrieked, "you are injured?!" She sounded more concerned than ever.

"No," Raven replied as she regained her stance, "I'm fine. I'm just tired."

Starfire instantly remembered that Raven hadn't slept yet. She stayed by Beastboy's side all night unwilling to leave him until he woke up. Her heart broke for Raven. It was clear Raven was also going through a tremendous amount of stress. Her powers, Beastboy, Terra, everything must have been weighing heavily on her and she was trying to carry it all on her own.

"You must rest," Starfire said strictly.

"I'm fine-" Raven couldn't finish as Satrfire spoke up and interrupted her.

"Unacceptable! You can not carry the burdens of others as well as your own without the care for yourself! You _will _rest at once!" Starfire sounded like she really genuinely cared. Like she wasn't about to let Raven do this to herself.

"Starfire..." Raven was speechless. She rarely saw this side of Starfire. She never has been on the receiving end of it either. But Raven knew she was right. If Raven was tired and fatigue began to overtake her she wouldn't be of use to anyone. Raven sighed, and bowed her head but shortly after she smiled and looked up at her best friend, "ok Star. But you have to promise you'll wake me if anything happens."

Starfire smiled back that warm smile only Starfire had and raised her right hand, "I swear to X'hal."

Raven let out a tiny laugh and looked to Terra and her family who had a look of utter confusion as to the conversation that just took place. She breathed easy like she was glad Starfire talked her into resting before addressing the Kane's, "looks like we'll pick this up first thing in morning."

Terra nod her head but her parents looked at each other concerned.

"So... Does that mean Terra will be staying here?" Carver asked.

"Is that... ok?" Raven asked. She felt a little embarrassed. Like a child asking if a friend could sleep over. It seemed unnecessary to her.

"Well... Uh..." Carver didn't know what to say but it was obvious he wanted Terra home with him and Lindsey.

"Of course it's ok," Lindsey spoke for him, "this is the safest place in the city for our girl," she looked down at Terra and began stroking her hair gently, "besides... the detective said she needs to keep her nose out of trouble. What better place to stay out of trouble than here?" She chuckled seeing the irony.

Carver felt uneasy but later relaxed knowing Lindsey was right. But it was more than that. He could also tell Lindsey was trying to express her trust in the Titans as another way of apologizing for her mistakes.

"Think you'll be ok here for ananother day?" Carver asked warmly.

"Don't worry about me," Terra said trying to reassure her parents, "I'll be fine. Besides... I've been through worse." She raised her cast with a slight laugh trying to make the best of a bad situation.

The room chuckled but they all seemed to be on the same page that this was the best course of action.

"Alright... I guess... we'll leave you to it," Carver said with a sense of sadness as he stood up, lowering a hand to his wife.

Lindsey took his hand and stood up after him before turning around and offering a hand to Terra. Terra took her hand and Lindsey pulled her up and wrapped her arms tightly around Terra as if hugging her for the last time.

"We'll... see you soon... Right?" She trembled as she spoke to her only child.

"Yes mama," Terra said beginning to tear up, "we be together again soon. I promise."

Carver hugged both of them and the two Titans stood there watching as the room filled with a cold sense of fear and sadness. After everything that's happened it was almost cruel to separate them again.

"Ok sweety," Carver said as he gently pulled Lindsey off of her, "we love you."

"I love you too," Terra said wiping her eyes.

The Kanes head for the door leaving their daughter behind. They looked back once more as Starfire opened the door for them. Lindsey smiled through her tears and Carver took her hand. He wasn't smiling. He couldn't hide the depth of sadness in heart. It was pouring out of him like a waterfall. They both turned and exit the Tower and the door slid shut behind them.

Raven looked at Terra as Terra sat back down. She envied Terra. She had a family that loved her. Even though it wasn't a family of her own blood. Where as Raven had a mother who loved her but seemed to resent her in a way. And as for her father... Well... She was glad to be rid of him.

"Anyways... We'll start first thing in the morning," Raven said trying to pick up where they left off.

Terra looked up at Raven and smiled. But it quickly disappeared and she continued to wallow in her newly found depression.

"I shall prepare the pudding of sadness," Starfire annouced as she head to the kitchen.

Raven immediately dawned a face of terror. She looked to Terra and felt the need to warn her.

"Whatever you do... don't eat it," she whispered.

"Why?" Terra asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Just trust me on this one," Raven said sternly. Her eyebrow twitched showing her desperate concern for Terra's tastebuds.

Terra saw this and nod her head looking back at Starfire who was already mixing a bowl of strange ingredients.

Raven let out a long yawn. The fatigue and exhaustion were really beginning to hit her hard and her vision was starting to blur slightly. She thought back to the last thing she said to Beastboy. Her anger was barely under control at the time. Perhaps her lack of sleep was having more effect on her than she realized. She let out another heavy sigh and admit defeat to her exhaustion.

"Starfire's right. I need to rest," she put a hand on Terra's shoulder and Terra looked up at Raven, "we can do this," she reassured her, "I don't know if it will work... but it's worth a try. You'll just have to trust me."

"I already do." Terra respond without hesitation. She knew this was her only option and she was glad it was available to her to begin with.

Raven smiled at Terra. Her response nearly took her by surprise and it actually encouraged her. With that she removed her hand from Terra's shoulder and levitate across the room to the hallway door. She looked back once more to Terra as the door opened in front of her.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Raven sounded optimistic. Like she had a good feeling about this and it made Terra feel a little better as she gave a small but warm smile back to her.

Raven disappeared into the hallway as the door shut behind her. Starfire finished preparing her pudding and float over to Terra with a spoonful in hand.

"Try," she commanded, "the displeasing taste will ease your troubled mind."

Terra's face lit up in the same horror she saw from Raven. _That's what she meant?! _Terra thought to herself.

"Oh, no thank you!" Terra said trying to laugh away her nervousness, "I actually think I better rest up too. Big day tomorrow!" She chuckled.

Terra got up and starting quickly moving to the hallway where Raven just stood a moment ago. The hallway door opened and she vanished into the hallway shouting back to Starfire who remained on the couch with the spoon still in hand.

"Goodnight!" She exclaimed.

Starfire watched her fade away and shrugged her shoulders. She looked at the spoon and decided to take a bite. Her face immediately showed signs of regret as she shuddered from the disgusting taste of her pudding. After she forced herself to swallow she let out a loud noise of disgust and flew to the kitchen to put the bowl in the fridge.

Raven lay in bed. She was extremely tired but her mind was still running rampant. Stirring on everything that was going on. The more she focused on them the heavier her eyes got. Slowly they began to shut and her thoughts became dreams.


	41. Demons

**A/N: To anyone reading this, thank you! I hope you all can bear with me as we finish this story. I have a lot of ideas and its gonna be a wild ride. I hope you guys like it! Thanks for all your reviews. They keep me going honestly. I can't tell you how many times I've read them. So thanks! As always drop a fav or follow if you like what you read as well as leave a review to let me know how I'm doing or if I should change some things. Thanks again! I hope you like this chapter!**

Darkness had fallen over the Tower. A clear sky of stars shined over the city and gentle waves crashed on the island soothing the air with a lullaby. It was late at night and everyone was asleep. Or so it seemed...

Raven tossed and turned in her deep sleep. All around her were ruins and despair. Where water once was filling the seas and oceans, molten lava now took it's place. Everyone who hadn't been shielded by a heavenly power was turned to stone and the Titans were facing defeat at the hands of evil incarnate.

_"Fairwell, dear daughter."_

Red beams discharged from Trigon's eyes. Such beams would eviscerate anything in its path but Raven remained untouched as her power shielded her in an orb of white light.

_"You are still no threat to me, little girl. I am your creator. Your master. You exist only to serve me. You survive only because I allow it. What hope does a mere child have of defeating her all powerful father?!"_

Raven's emotions overwhelmed her. Her eyes began to glow bright white and her dark energy held a new kind of strength that surged within her and her raw power came exploding out of her.

_"You may have created me... But you were NEVER my father."_

Raven's eyes shot open as she lay in bed. As she looked around her room she realized how late it was. She sat up and looked to her left down at her clock on her nightstand. Both hands pointed straight up telling her it was midnight. She had slept for nearly 12 hours.

Next to her clock lay something small but very important to her. It had powerful sentimental value behind it even though its actual value was only one cent. But in the past few weeks its meaning became more powerful than she ever thought possible. Its value to her was now priceless just like the friendship of someone she developed feelings for...

_For luck._

Raven picked up the the small copper coin and placed her hands in her lap. She stared down at it wondering how he was doing. She closed her hand around the coin tightly. Luck was an understatement with his current situation. After what Cyborg had told her, Beastboy had used all the luck in the world just to survive.

Her face turned fierce with determination and she began to think about Slade. He was nothing. Just a mortal man. Someone who wasn't anywhere near as strong as her father. Why couldn't she take him down like she took down her father?

Raven sighed and threw the blankets off her lap and stood up out of bed. She threw her robe around her back connecting the button in front of her chest. She looked down at her hand once more where the small penny continued to rest. She closed her eyes as if reciting a spell of protection for Beastboy and put the coin in the pocket of her robe and walked into the hallway.

The living area was lit up by the giant tv. It played some kind of late night show that no one really understood but was numbing to the brain. The kind of show that served no purpose but to pass the time.

Terra sat alone on the couch watching the show. Her eyes may have been on the screen but she wasn't paying attention. Her mind was all over the place.

Raven walked into the living area to find Terra sitting on the couch with the tv on. She was shocked to see Terra awake but it quickly disappeared after she thought about everything Terra was going through.

"Can't sleep?" Raven asked as she crossed the living area to the couch.

Terra jumped from the unexpected voice and turned her head around quickly to see Raven walking towards her. She relaxed and went back to watching the weird late night show.

"I haven't really slept since Beastboy found me," she admit, "my nightmares won't let me."

Raven sat next to her and looked her in the eyes. She could tell this poor girl hadn't had a peaceful dream or refreshing night of rest for a while. She felt bad for Terra.

"What about you?" Terra asked, "did you get some rest?"

Raven nod her head. She didn't want to tell her that she slept for half a day. She felt it would just make Terra feel worse. At this point Raven didn't really know what to say.

"I... don't know what to expect tomorrow..." Raven began, "but you should at least _try_ to get some sleep." She sounded like she was trying to help. Her voice had a tone of comfort behind it.

Terra looked down and her eyes told a terrifying story.

_"Baby, RUN!"_

"No. I can't." Terra softly respond.

"But-" Raven stopped in her tracks as Terra interrupted her.

"I just can't," Terra said aggressively.

Raven continued to stare at Terra. She could easily tell something serious was going on in her mind. The emotion she was emitting was exactly like the one she was giving off earlier. An emotion that was hard to figure out what it really was.

"Terra..." Raven said softly, "what... I mean... I don't understand."

Terra continued staring at the ground. Whatever was bouncing around in her head was extremely powerful. Like it was taking control of her completely.

"Neither do I..." Terra said as her voice began to tremble.

Raven felt for Terra. She was going through something similar to what Raven had dealt with her entire life. It was clear Terra was fighting for control. Not just over her powers. But over her life. She had her own kind of demons. Maybe not a literal one like Raven... But none-the-less it _was_ a demon that could destroy you from the inside out.

Raven looked away for a moment and thought maybe she could help. Maybe she could kill two birds with one stone. The only thing she was worried about was if Terra would be willing to accept her help.

"I _want_ to understand," Raven said looking back up to Terra.

Terra looked back at Raven confused, "what do you mean?"

"I mean... I want to see what your going through. I want to help you," Raven felt like she already did understand Terra. But the only way to know for sure was to know the whole story, "I want to understand the pain you're feeling."

Terra's face went blank. She had no idea how to respond to that. She was humbled by Raven's compassion but didn't wish this pain she felt on anyone. Not even her worst enemies.

"I..." Terra stuttered unsure of what to say, "How would you even-"

"I can go into your mind," Raven interrupted knowing that question would be asked, "I will be able to see what you see." Raven went silent for a second wondering if it would be possible to help get her memories back this way. She didn't know for sure but it was worth a try, "and maybe I can help _you_ see too."

"Help _me _see?" Terra asked more confused than ever.

"I'm not sure it would work... But I might be able to help you get you memories back." Raven explained.

Terra's face lit up with excitement. She wanted more than anything to remember past. But fear coursed through her entire body quickly after. All these dreams. All these nightmares. What if her past was just that? A nightmare.

Raven saw the look of horror on her face. She knew this meant Terra had an idea of what her past may be like.

"Terra... What is it you're so afraid of?" Raven asked bluntly. She genuinely wanted to know. Depending on her answer Raven would know if this was a good idea or not.

Terra's horror began to fade and she thought about that question for a second.

"I guess... I'm afraid I'll finally _know,_" she respond, "I'll know exactly why I was such a bad person. I'll know why I did such terrible things."

Raven's face grew concerned. She didn't think about that. If Terra did regain her memories... would she go back to being the person who betrayed them? The person that chose to work with Slade? Would she become their enemy again? Raven began to think this may actually be a bad idea.

"But... I won't get anywhere if I let my past continue to torture me like this," Terra looked up at the tv once more, "it's time I face it. It's time I become who _I _want to be. Not just some frail little girl. Not a helpless child who can be so easily manipulated. It's time I gained control. For _me._"

Raven's concern vanished. What she just heard was inspiring. She sounded like the person Raven was not too long ago when she faced her father. Being told what to do and when. Being manipulated to do horrendous things. Only when you truly take control of your life do you really get to decide your own fate.

Raven smiled at Terra's admiration. She knew right then that she would help Terra.

"Alright then," Raven respond, "I guess I'll see you in the morning." Raven stood up but before she could start heading for her room Terra grabbed her wrist and stopped her.

"Actually..." She started, "I was hoping... we could do this... now."

Raven was taken by surprise. But she knew there might not have been a better time than now. She looked away and thought hard about it. After a moment she agreed and decided to help Terra. Now. But she had to tell someone on the team where they were going just in case.

"Alright... We'll do it now," Raven began, "but first I need to tell Robin."

Terra let out a huge sigh of relief. She was just about to fall on her knees to beg Raven to get it over with as soon as possible but she was glad it didn't come to that.

Terra smiled and nod to Raven and let go of her wrist. Raven flashed a smile back and levitate to the hallway door and began making her way to Robin's room.

As she approached his room, a faint voice could be heard through the door. Raven was shocked he was still awake. The last time she saw him, he walked right past her with his head down like a man on mission.

_Has he been talking to someone this whole time?_ She thought to herself.

Just when she got to the door she was about to knock but stopped short to hear the last part of Robin's conversation.

"Thanks. For everything." Robin said. He sounded almost sad. Like someone had gone to extreme lengths for him and his debt of gratitude was never going to be enough.

_"I'll be keeping an eye on you. Take care of yourself, Richard." _A second voice respond. Raven didn't know who it was but she heard something that she never thought she would hear... Robin's real name.

Raven pulled herself out of her stupor and began lightly knocking on the door. Before she finished knocking the door slid open and Robin was standing in front of her.

"Uh..." Raven said taken by surprise. She looked down trying to get back on track, "I was just..." She thought for a second and her curiosity got the best of her before she looked back up at Robin, "who were you talking to?"

Robin squint his eyes at her wondering just how long she had been listening.

"An old friend," he said with a disturbing tone as he looked over his shoulder back at the phone.

Raven knew that tone. She knew not to press it any further.

"What is it? Do you need something?" Robin asked trying to speed up the conversation.

"Oh! Um... No," Raven said remembering why she was at Robin's door, "I just came to tell you that I'm taking Terra to a remote location miles away from the city. We're going to try to get her memories back and get her powers under control."

"Her memories?" Robin said raising an eyebrow, "you think that's a good idea?" Robin knew Raven could go into Terra's mind to help but this seemed extremely risky. Not only could it back-fire... but if Terra lost control of her powers who knows what could happen.

Raven looked down at her feet, "I honestly don't know," she admit, "but I have a good feeling about this. I think I can help her." She looked up at Robin with a determined and confident expression.

Robin stared at Raven intently. He was searching for any signs of doubt on her face. When he couldn't find any he looked away and let out a small sigh.

"Fine. But keep your communicator on you and be ready for anything," he said with a sense of urgency in his voice, "Slade is still out there. We don't know when he will strike next." With that, Robin turned around and walked back into his room and the door slid shut behind him.

Raven stood in the dim hallway for a second. That went much better than she thought it would. Not to mention she still wondered who he was talking to and how they knew his real name.

She shook the thoughts out of her head and turned to head back to Terra. When she got back to the living area, Terra sat in the same place she did when Raven left.

Terra turned her head to see Raven and stood up. She raced around the couch to meet Raven half way at the center of the room. Terra was eager to get started.

"Alright. Let's go." Raven raised her hands and dark energy surround the two of them. In an instant, they vanished from the Tower.

A vast and flat landscape was filled with the sounds of crickets and nocturnal sounds. The stars and galaxies were crystal clear with no light pollution for miles in every direction. Nothing could be seen in any direction of this barren dessert. There were no signs of a human population or interaction anywhere.

Out of the cold and calm air, a dark power took shape and Raven unfurled the dark energy like a cloak, revealing herself and Terra.

Terra looked around seeing nothing in sight and felt a little better knowing she wouldn't be able to hurt anyone.

"Thanks," she said to Raven, "for helping me I mean." She wanted to make sure that her gratitude didn't send the wrong message.

"Don't thank me yet," Raven said sharply, "this is going to be... well... you're not gonna like it."

Terra's face didn't change. It was as if she was already suffering enough. How much worse could it be for her?

"So... how does this work?" Terra asked still anxious to get started.

"I can enter you mind in a conscious state... however, that's not going to help. I can't force your memories. I can't force you to think. I can only help if you are connected to your subconscious." Raven said trying her best to explain.

"What do you mean?" Terra asked a little confused.

"Your memories are buried deep within yourself. Within your subconscious. I can't help you find them unless you open the door to them. The only way you can do that is when you're asleep," Raven continued to explain.

A look of dread washed over Terra's face. She didn't want to sleep. She didn't want to see the images that haunt her with no explanation. With no way of tuning them out. It was a feeling Raven knew all to well.

Raven put a hand on her shoulder as Terra stared at the dirt she stood on and tried to encourage her, "the only way this will work... is if I go into your dreams with you Terra." Raven didn't know what else to say. But then something Beastboy had said to her long ago when Malchior had Manipulated her...

_You think you're alone Raven, but you're not._

"You're not alone," Raven whispered brealy loud enough for Terra to hear.

Terra looked up at Raven and saw a similar pain she was experiencing in her eyes. She closed her eyes and lowered her head accepting what Raven told her.

Raven helped Terra to the ground and knelt next to her as Terra lay flat on her back in the softest patch of dirt they could find. A single tear rolled down Terra's cheek and she took a deep breath.

"Terra," Raven said seeing the struggle coming from her, "are you sure you want to do this? If we do manage to get your memories back... there's no going back."

Terra opened her eyes and stared at the star above her. They were flickering like beacons of hope from a distant world. They gave her some much needed encouragement.

"Good." She said softly as she looked towards Raven. Terra was ready to tackle her past and find a way to press forward.

Raven smiled at her again admiring her bravery. She gave Terra a small nod and Terra closed her eyes. She was exhausted. Not long after her eyes shut, she slipped into a deep sleep.

Raven took a deep breath and began levitating in her meditation pose next to Terra.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos."


	42. Subconscious Part 1

**A/N: To all my readers, welcome back! If you're new I hope you've enjoyed so far! So for Terra's origin story I decided to break it up into two parts. I just got lost in detail this chapter and I wanna keep going with it. If you think its a little too much please leave me a review on what you thought and why I should fix it. But anyways... Thank you so much for your reviews and following me on this journey. If you like what you're reading drop a Fav or Follow or even a review! I always read them and I'm always open to constructive criticism! Thanks again! Hope you enjoy!**

Raven opened her eyes to an empty darkness. Nothing in sight in any direction. It was is if she had been sucked into a black hole. An inescapable nightmare of nothingness in a dark abyss.

Raven began to worry... Maybe this _was _a bad idea... But then in the distance a small light appeared and began to glow. It wasn't very bright but the glow was coming off of something moving towards her.

_"Mommy! Chase me mommy!" _The glow began to take shape as a small child's laughter rang out through the darkness. It was a little blonde girl and she appeared to be running around playfully. The child was a toddler. Not even five years old yet.

"Terra?" Raven asked herself. It dawned on her that her attempt to go into Terra's subconscious mind was successful. It was dark and empty because she couldn't remember details about this memory. Only that she was a little girl playing with her mother... Raven realized this was Terra's very first memory.

The sun began to rise behind Raven she turned around to see the bright sunlight evaporating the emptiness like water filling a cup to the brim.

Not far away, a town grew from the ground up. It looked like an old mining town that was flourishing. Buildings looked updated even though they still had the structured look of buildings from long ago. It gave the town character like it had a good history and a bright future.

In the distance, there were mounatins shooting into the air in every direction. with endless rolling hills in between them. Lush green trees popped out of the mountains and covered every bit of them like thick blankets.

Raven looked down to her feet to see the ground change shape. Under her feet sprout knee high grass soft as cotton. It was a gorgeous day. Perfect summer weather.

A tall blonde woman, wearing summer shorts and a t-shirt was wading through the knee high grass in front of Raven with a smile on her face. She looked like she was searching the grass for something.

_"Rrraaahhhhhhh!!!" _Out of the knee high grass came the little blonde girl in her cute summer dress. She was a few years older now but still as playful as ever.

_"Aaaahhhhh!!!" _The woman fake screamed acting terrified. She fell back into the grass and the little girl jumped on top of her.

_"I scared you mommy!" _The little girl giggled.

_"You sure did!" _The woman playfully laughed with her daughter.

They seemed like an inseparable pair. As Raven watched the memories unfold in front of her she couldn't help but smile and giggle here and there. She liked what she was seeing. It made her happy to see that Terra's past wasn't just a tragic upcoming since birth like herself... but she actually had a decent life with a loving family.

The grass got shorter under Ravens feet and the sun had moved, changing positions in the sky. A river forced its way past Raven splitting the grassy field in half with a river bank of small rocks and sand. The stream followed the rolling hills into the mountains as if paving the way to paradise.

_"How much further mama?" _The little girl asked. She was holding hands with her mom like they were heading to a long awaited destination. They walked along the river bank as if following the stream like a treasure map.

_"Not much farther, baby," _the tall blonde woman said smiling down at her daughter.

The little blonde girl was still young. Not much more than a year or two older than the last memory Raven watched. Her clothing seem to have more detail now. As Raven watched she saw everything around her had more detail as if these memories were more prevalent. Terra wore a yellow summer dress with pink sandals that wrapped around her heels.

She seemed like she had matured slightly. She would dance between calling her mother "_mama_" and "_mommy_" like she wasn't sure which one sounded better to her.

As they continued walking a wide open clearing came into view and Raven had to shield her eyes as the sunlight reflcted off a gorgeous lake that glistened like bright stars in a night sky. Trees surrounded the entire lake making it look like a sports arena superdome and the lake was the playing field at the center. At the other end of the lake a smaller river formed as if the river they followed in was picking up where it had left off.

_"__WOW!!!!" _The little girl said in awe. She was so excited to see such an amazing sight. It must have been the first time she had ever been to this lake.

_"Come on, I'll teach you how to skip stones," _her mother giggled. She was delighted to see the excitment on her daughter's face. The woman was wearing a light summer dress similar to her daughters now. It was white and would drift with the most gentle breeze like a curtain on a windy day. She wore sandals as well but hers only wrapped over the top of her foot near her toes. They seemed to enjoy wearing similar or matching outfits.

They went down to the beach of the lake took their sandals off and lightly splashed in the shallows of the water. They were having a blast. A mother and daughter living life to the fullest. After they'd had their fill of splashing around they went back to the beach and Terra's mother picked up a smooth round stone. The smoothest she could find.

_"Ok sweety," _she said to her daughter, _"watch closely." _She wrapped her index finger around the edge of the rock balancing the bottom surface on her curled middle finger and wrapping her thumb around the other edge of the stone, _"y__ou hold it like this... then you throw it like this!" _She whipped her hand around the side of her body letting the stone roll off the tip of her index finger. The rock went sailing through the air spinning like a frisbee and slowly came down on the calm surface of the lake water. It gently touched down on the water and immediately lifted back into the air before repeating itself a dozen more times before finally dying down and disappearing beneath the surface of the water.

Terra's little eyes went wide with excitement. To a girl her age...that may have been the greatest thing she had ever seen.

_"I wanna try!" _She exclaimed. Terra picked up a stone from the sand and tried tossing it the same way her mother did. It made a long arch through the air before hitting the water like a chubby child doing a cannon ball to impress his friends at the community swimming pool. Terra's excitement vanished when she couldn't get it right on her first try.

Her mother chuckled and picked up another rock,_"try again baby," _she said handing her the stone. It was smooth and round almost like a perfect circle. She placed it in her daughter's hand and positioned her fingers just as hers would have been and nudged her head towards the water encouraging her to give it another shot.

Terra turned back to the water and whipped her arm around a second time. The rock skipped a few times before splashing into the depths of the lake.

_"I DID IT!!!" _She screamed with joy. She wrapped her arms around her mother tightly laughing with excitement.

Raven nearly teared up from this exchange between mother and daughter. She envied them. She always wanted something like that. Someone to hold her, encourage her, and love her. It made her want to reconnect with own mother. But she and Arella weren't exactly... close... Raven blinked away the emotions and continued to observe the memories as if she recording them with her own mind.

The sun changed positions again but only slightly. Terra didn't seem to change in age this time. Raven believed this meant it was a memory that must have taken place close to the same day as the memory she just watched.

Terra stood on the beach of the lake once again. She wore the same outfit like she didn't change but her sandals were no where in sight.

She had a pile of rocks sitting next to her. All were ideal for skipping stones. She seemed to be a pro at it now. As if she had been practicing for weeks if not months.

Raven could only assume Terra had been here numerous times now. She figured this was a place they would visit often. It must have been a fair distance from where they lived but close enough to walk every day.

The stones skipped across the lake flawlessly. They danced on the surface leaving a circle of ripples with each step. Terra seemed happy. She loved life. Didn't fear anything. As long as she had her mother she thought nothing could go wrong.

_"I can't believe you got so good so fast!" _Her mother cried out to her daughter with pride. She was a small walk away down the beach where she was sunbathing, _"you only started skipping stones yesterday!" _Her mother exclaimed. She smiled at Terra giving her a huge look of pride before returning to sunbathing. Her outfit had changed. She now wore a two piece swim suit that showed off her flawless skin. She was definitely beautiful. Even Raven couldn't deny that. But something she said caught her attention.

_Yesterday? _Raven thought to herself in shock._This was just some kind of weekend get-away?_ She didn't understand. A girl her age developing hand-eye coordination like that in less than 24 hours seemed impossible. The stones skipped across the water almost _too _perfect for only a day's practice.

Terra walked around collecting more stones into a pile at a different part of the beach even further away from her mother. Once she had another pile she started the process over again and began effortlessly tossing stones at the water and watching them skip perfectly.

Raven looked a little closer at Terra tossing the stones this time. When she focused she could see Terra wasn't actually throwing the stones. She _looked_ like she was... but from the moment they left her hand to the moment they hit the water the stones were not following her arms movement. The rocks were flying unnaturally as if something else was controlling them.

Raven gasped. She understood why this memory was so important now. It was the day Terra realized she had powers... but nothing prepared her for what she was about to see next.

A shadow grew on the ground behind Terra. It crept up more and more until she was completely covered in the darkness of whatever was blocking the sun.

She spun to see herself staring up at a massive grizzly bear towering over her looking down at Terra like she was its next meal. Terra's eyes went wide in horror. She screamed and fell backwards into the soft sand. She felt trapped. Pinned between a lake and a grizzly bear.

A large rock the size of a baseball came flying in out of nowhere and smacked against the bears head. He turned to see Terra's mother jumping around and waving her arms frantically. As soon as she had heard Terra's scream she jumped into action not even hesitating to risk her life.

_"OVER HERE!!! COME AND GET ME!!!" _She shouted trying to get the bear away from her child.

The bear let out a chilling roar. It was already annoyed from the large rock smashing against its face but seeing this little woman taunting it right after she threw the rock, made it even more angry. It turned towards her and started to charge the woman seeking vengeance.

Terra looked on in horror as the bear started closing the gap between itself and Terra's mother.

_"Terra, run!__" _She yelled, _"I'll meet you at home!" _She sounded confident like she had a plan. But Terra was frozen stiff. She couldnt move even if she wanted to. Her mothers words fell on deaf ears as she continued to look on in horror.

_"Terra?!" _Her mother called trying to get Terra to snap out of it.

Terra kept looking from the sprinting bear back to her mother over and over. Back and forth. She was unsure of what was about to happen right in front of her eyes and it scared her even more.

_"BABY!!!" _Her mother screamed desperately trying to get Terra's attention.

The grizzly was right on top of Terra's mother now and Terra finally snapped out of it hearing her mother call out to her. But instead of running like her mother wanted she stood firm and wanted to show no fear just like her mom. She looked down at the pile of rocks she was going to use for skipping stones then looked back up at the bear getting dangerously close to her mom.

She reached down picked up a few stones and began failing her arm as hard as she could. These rocks were clearly not going to where her arm was flailing about. The rocks seemed to launch themselves at the bear by some unseen force.

One clocked the grizzly right on the back of the skull and it turned to see Terra continously tossing rocks his way each one hitting their mark without fail. One hit the beast on the forehead, followed by another that hit him on the nose causing it to shake its head vigorously to numb the pain. The grizzly was getting more angry with every stone.

The bear continued to grow more and more annoyed and stopped chasing after Terra's mother no matter how much she wailed and thrashed about. Instead, it began approaching his original target and this time seemed more angry and determined than ever and without hesitation Terra's mother gave chase on the bears heels hoping to get to Terra first.

Terra relentlessly continued to fire rocks until she found herself empty handed with none left. She then found a new passion for fear and turned to start running before it got with striking range. However, Terra was too small and too slow for the massive beast and couldn't out run it. It was gaining on her fast. It wasn't long before it was right behind her nipping at her heels.

The bear lunged, throwing its jaws at the little blonde girl trying to bite her head off but failed with a loud and empty chomp as Terra dove forward to her left landing on her stomach to avoid being eaten. The beast then over ran her studden stop, grinding to a sliding halt on the other side of Terra. It quickly corrected itself and started heading back to where Terra lay.

She rolled to her back, sat up, and began shuffling backwards in the opposite direction she had just been running until she found herself backed against a large boulder that lay on the outskirts of the beach where the tree line began. The bear raised a claw to strike and swung swiftly for a killing blow.

Terra closed her eyes and clenched her body thinking she wasn't going to survive this when suddenly a forceful pull sent her out of the path of the strike landing on her mothers body next to the large boulder she was just backed against. The brave mother quickly scanned her daughter for injuries before looking back to see the bears claws strike the hard surface of the rock leaving three distinct scratch marks across the surface. However, it wasted no time and immediately turned to face the two girls once more.

Terra's mother picker her up with one arm and stood up to begin running but her feet found no traction in the soft sand and she slipped to her knees where Terra landed on the beach in front of her with a soft thud. Terra quickly sat back up facing the massive creature and began backing away again as her mother did the same.

She had put herself in between the grizzly and her daughter. When she didn't see a way out she turned her back to the bear outstretched her arms in an attempt to make a human wall to bar the beast from her child. She stared into Terra's eyes thinking this was the end. She only hoped her sacrifice would allow her little girl to continue on living.

Terra's eyes went wide when she realized what her mother was doing. Right over her mothers right shoulder she could see the massive bear lifting its right paw yet again to strike. Terra grew desperate. She started to look around for anything she might be able to use to stop the beast. But there was nothing. No rocks. No branches. No nothing. Just a boulder she was backed against a moment ago.

Raven's eyes went wide and her face turned to sheer panic... _Is__ Terra's past... really this bad? _She thought to herself as she watched. She was expecting things to be bad... but nothing like this. Was Terra really about to watch her own mother die right in front of her eyes?

The bear's claw came crashing down and the air could be heard passing through its claws.

_"MOMMY!!!" _Terra screamed. Her eyes then lit up yellow and her hair began to float, defying gravity. The ground around them shook and a shock wave shot through the ground in every direction from where Terra and her mother sat in fear. The shock wave stopped the bear in its tracks send it back a few feet just enough for its claws to miss Terra's mother by a few inches. It began looking around confused wondering what just happened. The bear took a minute before calming down and re-focusing back on the two girls.

Terra's head started to get fuzzy like it was aching. She slowly looked over at the boulder next to her. She raised a hand to it and wished she could throw a rock that size at the bear. As she sat there looking at the boulder something caught her eye. She looked down slightly to see her rasied hand began to glow with an aura of yellow around it. When she looked back up... to her surprise the boulder was twice the size of the bear and had lifted from its place in the treeline. Terra act like she was going to throw it and sent her hand flying towards the beast and it slammed itself against the bear sending it flying into the lake with a huge splash.

The bear resurfaced instantly with utter fear surrounding it. It swam to the beach and made a run for the treeline in a different direction of the two girls, disappearing into the green vegitation.

Terra couldn't believe what she just saw. Her vision may have been fuzzy and her head may have ached but she was absolutely sure of what she saw. She knew it wasn't possible but she didn't care. Her mother was alive with her and that's all she cared about but when she looked at her mother she found herself staring a a woman filled with fear. Not from nearly getting mauled by a bear... but from what she was looking at. Fear of her daughter.

Her mother looked deep into Terra's yellow glowing eyes,_"no. No, please. Tell me it's not true," _she whispered under her breath, _"not you too."_

Terra looked up at her with her glowing yellow eyes and gave a confused expression. Raven was also confused. _What does she mean? Not her too? _

_"Mama-" _Terra stopped short and her hands shot to her temples. It felt like her head had spikes trying to come out of it and she was trying to use her hands to keep them from exiting her temples. She began to scream in pain. Louder than any sound she's ever made. It was so loud any birds that were in the trees nearby were startled and went flying off in every dircection.

_"Terra?!" _Her mother said concerned.

Immediately after her mother said that, another shock wave pulsed underneath them in every direction and everything around them began to shake. Terra was causing an earth quake. A big one. The lake next to them started to show large pockets of air rising to the surface as if they were coming from the bottom of the lake. It almost looked like the lake was boiling. Large waves started forming in the center of the lake but they never reached the shore. Something was happening to the lake and something was happening to Terra.

Terra started crying from the pain as her mother watched helplessly. Neither of them knew what to do.

_"Mommy!" _Terra struggled to say over her sobs of pain, _"Mommy help me!"_

_"I'm right here, baby!" _Her mother tried to comfort her, _"I got you. You're gonna be ok!"_

_"It hurts!!!" _Terra screamed, _"Mommy my head hurts!!!"_

Terra's mother began to tear up. She thought her daughter might not survive this after all. She looked up at the lake to see the waves and air pockets have stopped but a giant whirlpool had taken shape at the center of the lake. Any tree branches or debris that had fallen into the water from the earthquake was spinning around in the water at an impressive speed. If anyone were in the water they had no chance of getting out. As the spinning whirlpool continued Terra's mom noticed the surface level was going down. The water was draining somewhere at an alarming rate.

Terra continued to scream as the lakes surface level continued to lower. When the lake finally went dry the pain in Terra's head finally fade and she lay in the fetal position breathing heavily trying to catch her breath. Her yellow glowing eyes fade back to normal and her hair no longer fought gravity's pull. She was back to normal.

The lake was bone dry. The river that lead into the lake was now a weak stream that poured into the gaping crater of earth that was once a lake. At the bottom of the lake was a massive crevasse. It looked as if someone had torn open the ground on command just to demonstrate their raw power. But this wasn't a raw power that could be controlled. This power seemed to have control over whomever held it.

Raven flew high over the lake bed to see just how extensive the damage was. It was unbelieveable what she was seeing. All the trees within a 3 mile radius were bent and leaning towards the lake. Towards Terra, to be precise. The further away from terra the less intense the bend in trees would be. It was almost as if gravity had shifted the ground underneath them to a new central point. This was the kind of power Terra was trying to contain? The power that could obliterate land mass for miles? This brought a huge understanding to Raven. She knew exactly how this felt. Containing that kind of power is not easy to control.

Raven couldn't believe she had so much in common with Terra. It almost crushed her that she didn't see it earlier.

Terra finally caught her breath and sat up looking at her mom. Her head was still slightly aching but completely manageable even for a small child.

Her mother continued to stare at the empty lake bed in shock. She couldn't believe that the lake was gone. She couldn't believe Terra saved their lives from a giant grizzly bear. She couldn't believe Terra had this strange power she has seen before. She couldn't believe any of it. She didn't _want_ to believe any of it.

Terra followed her mothers gaze and she too fell into shock. All that time in pain she never paid attention to what was happening around her. How could she? She just now realized the lake was now dry.

_"What happened to the lake Mama?" _Terra asked ripe with worry in her voice. Terra's question was met with a short silence. After a moment her mother finally respond.

_"It's gone baby," _Terra's mother said softly. She sounded like all hope had gone. She didn't take her eyes off the empty crater in front of her. She just stared straight ahead with dead eyes. Like her worst fear had come true. Her face held a lifeless expression as if she just entered a nightmare.

Terra could see the pain on her face and grew more worried. She had thought maybe something happened to her during all the running and fighting against the bear, _"Mommy, are you hurt?"_ She asked.

Her mother's eyes began to water even more and a single tear fell down her cheek before she smiled, wiped it away, and looked at Terra.

_"We need to talk, baby."_


	43. Subconscious Part 2

**A/N: To all my readers, thank you! Sorry it took so long on this chapter. I had a lot of school work I had to do and life has been crazy lately. I'm still writing when I can though! Again thank you for your reviews. They give me so much inspiration to keep writing. I kinda, might have, sorta, slightly rushed through this one so I'll probably go back and edit it. But regardless I hope you like it! As always leave me a review and let me know how I'm doing or how I can improve. I will definitely be going back to make some edits based on a few reviews to help better the story. Please drop a fav or follow if you want more. Thanks again!**

Clouds in sky would pass the sun gently blocking the heat for a small period of time, cooling the ground. The weather was ideal for going outdoors. Raven flew down from the sky to Terra and her mother. They both just fade away and disappeared like shadows. At that point Raven knew this is where that memory ended and she awaited the next.

Walls of what seemed to be a home rose from the ground around her like a box folding into itself. Raven found herself inside a small but cozy house. The walls had closed off the wake of destruction she had just seen before it had fade away.

She stood outside a door to what she assumed was a small bedroom. She could hear two voices inside. Raven stepped through the shut door like a ghost going through walls and quietly observed the conversation.

_"Mama, are you mad at me?" _Terra asked. She sat on her bed looking up at her mother who sat next to her with her hands in her lap.

_"Of course not baby," _she replied sympathetically, _"but I prayed this day wouldn't come. I guess its time you knew the truth."_

Terra looked at her mom with curiosity. She had never seen her mother act this concerned before. She had always been loving and playful but now she seemed like a completely different person. Solid like stone. Unmoved by anything.

_"Sweetheart... I'm sure you've been wondering... what happened to daddy?" _She spoke slow and soft. It was as if she had to fight herself to get the words out.

_"You said he went on a trip and would be back soon," _Terra replied remembering her mother crying as she said those words.

Terra's mom smiled to hide her guilt and her eyes began you water the same as when she last told Terra about her father.

_"I lied baby," _she confessed, _"daddy isn't on a trip." _She began crying, _"and daddy isn't coming home."_

Terra was confused even more but seeing her mom bursting with emotion made her want to cry as well. She did her best to bottle up her emotions and listened quietly for her mother to continue.

_"But... Then... Where IS daddy?" _Terra respond trying to make sense of what her mother had told her.

_"He's gone sweety," _she wrapped her arms around Terra and continued to weep.

_"What do you mean, 'gone?'"_ Terra shot back with frustration, _"you said he would be back!"_

_"I know I did," _her mother said holding Terra tighter, _"but daddy was special. Just like you."_ Her voice grew more gentle like she was happy about that but concerned at the same time.

_"Special?" _Terra repeated as she began to tremble.

Her mother sighed and let go of Terra so she could look her in the eyes. It was a secret she wished she would never have to tell anyone but she had no choice now.

_"You're daddy could do stuff like you can. Just like how you made that big bad bear run away... He could do the same." _She explained_, "when he first came to this town he had been on the road for a long time. He was starving and needed a place to stay so we gave him some food and a bed in exchange for some much needed help in the mine."_

Terra looked out her window at the town. In the distance there stood a tall crane that would hoist people, minerals, supplies and many other things in and out of the mine. The mine was the main source of income for the town and without it the town would most likely fall apart.

_"Well..." _Her mother continued, "_he was such a big help the town offered him a permanent job. I met him shortly after and we eventually got married." _She reached for Terra's chin and turned her head gently away from the window to resume eye contact. She grew a genuinely warm smile, _"together we had you... and everything was perfect."_

Her smile then vanished after remembering what happened next. She looked away returned her hands to her lap and spoke softly, _"one day in the mine... there was an accident. He was just trying to help the miners but people are afraid of what they don't understand."_

Terra studied her mother carefully. She didn't quiet understand her mom at this age but she could tell from her expression that something terrible had happened.

_"There was a cave-in. A few of the miners were trapped and he used his gift to free them. He managed to save them but in the process he detroyed half the mine and put even more people in danger," _her voice grew dark and she began to get angry, _"they called him a freak. Formed a mob and came after him."_

Terra's eyes began to water. She had a feeling she knew where this was going.

_"When I heard about the mob I went looking for him. But I never found him__." _She trailed off as she finished her story.

_"So daddy... Isn't on a trip?" _Terra asked having a hard time believing the story she just heard.

_"No sweety," _she replied, _"it's been over five years since anyone ever saw him." _Her voice sounded cold like she lost all hope of him ever returning, _"but it seems he's not completely gone. He gave his gift to you." _She then turned and grabbed Terra by the shoulders looking her in the eye trying to stress the importance of her following words, _"promise me! Promise me you will never use his power!" _She sounded desperate like it was a life or death situation.

_"I..." _Terra said confused.

_"Baby! Swear it!" _She sounded like she was about to lose her daughter too.

_"I promise!" _Terra shouted trying to get her mother to release her.

But instead of releasing her Terra's mother wrapped her arms around her tightly as if she couldn't bear to let her go.

Terra was young and didn't understand but her mother had told her something that stuck with her. The small piece of her father that remained with her was this _gift._ Something she could do that others couldn't.

The two girls sitting on the bed then faded away and the walls around Raven fell and ground beneath her turned to rock. She found herself in a small valley of rocks with mountains all around her. It was a secluded place where with a small amount of privacy. The more Raven observed this place the more she noticed... This was where the lake used to be.

Terra stood in the center of the dry lake, next to the deep crevasse she had created as a small child, trying to focus. She was wearing a black t-shirt with cargo shorts and sneakers. It looked like she had grown a little taller and she seemed a little older. Maybe nine or ten?

After standing still for a moment she would raise her hand over rocks and try to make them move. Her hand would glow yellow and the rock she was focused on would hover off the ground before her glow would fade letting the rock fall back to the ground. She would repeat herself over and over trying to figure out how to control her fathers gift. Terra would let out a sigh of frustration on every attempt. Figuring this out on her own seemed nearly impossible.

It was obvious to Raven that in the following years since Terra spoke with her mother she dismissed her mother's warning and began to explore the side of her that been been left by her father. Raven watched in anticipation to see if she could learn this power of hers.

Terra's face grew angry as her frustration grew and she grit her teeth as she raised her hand one last time to the same rock she had been lifting earlier. Her eyes began to glow yellow as her hair defied gravity and her hand glowed brighter than before. The rock hoisted into the air and with an angry yell Terra whipped her hand towards a tree on the other side of the soft sand that had once been a beach. The rock went flying through the air at incredible speed smacking against the tree with a loud knock.

Terra began to breathe heavily as her glow faded. Her face remained angry for a moment before she relaxed, realizing she finally got it. She grew an excited smile and jumped into the air throwing a fist above her with shout of joy but when she did the ground next to her shot into the air next to her fist and came crashing down at her side with an earth shaking thud nearly knocking her over into the depths of the giant hole next to her.

She let out a small cry of terror as she regained her footing and stared at this rock just as big as her that she had pulled out of the ground. She may have finally figured out one part of her power but she still had very little control over it.

After she shook off her shock from nearly crushing herself and sending herself down into a bottomless pit, she turned to head to the treeline, thinking this was a good time to stop... but she saw something that scared her even more after she looked towards the tree line she was heading to.

Raven looked in the direction Terra was facing and saw a few kids dressed in summer clothes just like Terra. They were watching her in awe. Raven looked back at Terra to see what she would do. When Terra made eye contact with them they panicked and began sprinting into the woods.

Terra began to panic as well. Her secret wasn't a secret anymore. The fear pulsed through her entire body as her hair began to float again. The ground beneath her pulsed with a shock wave and the ground shook with a small tremor. Her head began to ache but no where near the pain she remembered from the lake.

Terra took a deep breath and tried to calm down. The small tremor under her slowed to a stop and her hair fell naturally. She began walking again with a look of deep concern on her face.

The scenery changed again. building shot out of the ground all around Raven and more walls folded into a room around her. Raven was now in a classroom of the school Terra attended. Terra wore her school uniform and had a look of worry on her face as she stepped into class. The whole class was staring at her and the worried look on Terra's face grew more intense.

Next thing Raven knew the school bell was ringing and Terra was leaving the school in a hurry. She was almost speed walking home as she walked past the massive crane for the mine nearby.

_"Hey Terra!" _one of the students called to her as she walked. Terra began to panic as she turned to face the young boy. He was the same age as her wearing a similar uniform except it was meant for boys, _"hey!" _He said again catching his breath as he caught up to her, _"listen... so... uh... I know I might sound crazy but a couple of kids at school said they saw you over the summer out in Rocky Valley and uh..." _He stopped short wonder if he should even should even finish, _"well... they said they saw you doing some weird things..."_

Raven realized some time must have passed allowing summer break to end. Giving the rumors of Terra's powers to spread through the town before the first day of school... Which must have been this day.

Hearing the boy aound so sure about the rumors he's heard about the girl in front of him made Terra's heart began to race and her face showed signs of panic.

_"They said you were moving rocks without even touching them!" _He sounded excited like he was meeting a celebrity.

Terra began to get gripped with fear and her head had a slowly increasing pressure in it. She's learned what that meant and knew what was about to happen.

_"They're lying. I didn't do anything like that. I CAN'T do anything like that." _She sounded extremely defensive like she was accused of a crime.

_"Aww man!" _The boy said disappointed, _"that would be so cool if you really could!"_

The pressure in Terra's head vanished and she relaxed as the shock from seeing how accepting this boy was of her possibly having powers.

_"Well..." _Terra began. She thought maybe her mom was wrong. Maybe she could be accepted even with her gift.

_"So you can?!" _The boy said perking up again, _"No way!!!! Can I see?!" _He looked like he had stars in his eyes with how exciexcited he was getting.

Terra looked around to see other kids from school were watching from a distance just like they did from the trees. She might be able to trust this one boy... but she didn't trust any of the others. She looked back at the boy and spoke firmly.

_"No. I already told you, I can't do anything like that." _She sounded like she was trying to end the conversation.

_"Oh come on... Please?" _The boy insisted.

_"No." _Terra repeat herself.

_"But why? It's so cool. I've never met someone with cool powers," _he was being unusually persistent.

_"I said no!" _Terra began to get frustrated and started walking away because the pressure in her head began to return.

_"You don't have to be so mean about it!" _The boy spouted back, _"all I'm asking iis you move one little rock for me!"_

_"NO!" _Terra's anger grew and her head stung with a sharp pain. She fell to her knees and the ground shook violently as she landed.

Everything around her started shaking. The crane nearby began to pitch and yaw, whinning with every small movement.

Shouts of fear and panic could be heard from the tunnels below the crane and all the kids watching from a distance began to scream in horror.

Terra gripped her head as her books fell to the ground next to her.

_No. No, no, no, no, no. _She began repeating in her head over and over. She got up and started running as fast she could get away from the area.

The ground under the crane began to cave and the front of it fell forward before catching itself in a more compact and sturdy piece of gravel.

As Terra sprint as fast as she could the pain in her head was droning on. She just wanted to get as far away as she could before anything else could happen. As she got further away the ground near the mine slowed and stopped shaking.

Raven breathed a sigh of relief. The entire situation had her tensed up and she was gritting her teeth hoping nothing bad would happen.

The sight of the crane and town fade away and the field that Raven had seen earlier from Terra's first few memories reappeared with Terra waking up in the middle of it.

Dark clouds were above her and rain was starting to fall softly. The distant chants from a group of angered people was growing slowly. Raven watched on as she feared what was about to happen.

_"Terra!" _Terra's mother shouted. She found her in the field just as she did when she was a child.

Terra was getting back to her her feet before her mom stopped her at her knees and held her tightly. After a long moment as the angry voices grew louder she looked Terra in the eyes as if saying goodbye.

_"Sweety you have to listen to me," _she sounded serious. Desperate was an understatement for the way her voice sounded, _"you have to run. Get as far away as you can from here. Its not safe anymore."_

_"Mama?" _Terra said still dazed from waking up in the field. She was trying to figure out what was going on.

Her mother gave her one last long hug and ran off into the distance towards the shouting.

_"Please! Please don't do this!" _She screamed to the mob, _"she's just a child she cant control it!"_

_"Mama?!" _Terra shouted. She stood up, looking up at her fearless mother taking on an entire town of angered people.

The crowd heard Terra's cry for her mother and they began to rush towards her.

_"Baby RUN!!!!!" _Her mother screamed as she was overwhelmed by the fear stuck town. The fear powered their anger that drove off her father just as it was driving off Terra.

_"MAMA!!!!" _Terra yelled as she began to cry. But her tears were then swarmed by pain.

Her gripped her head once again. This pain. This is the pain she remembered from her past. The feeling of spikes driving out of her skull. She fell to her knees once again and sent a wave of rocks in every direction within a 12 foot radius. The earth rumbled and shook aggressively. It shook like an earth quake was ready to explode from under her.

The mob of people stopped in their tracks. They didn't want to pursue someone that could make the very groud the stood on shake under them. They watched carefully from a distance to see what would happen next.

Terra gripped her temples as if trying to stop these painful spikes from exiting her skull. The pain was growing. it was more intense than before. She looked to the sky and when she opened her eyes the mob could see the terrifying glow of yellow from where they stood. Her hair began floating and she let out a deafening scream.

The ground stopped shaking.

The mob looked on as this girl continued to scream, piercing their ears. They started moving towards her slowly.

Terra's scream faded. But her eyes continued to glow and she continued to grip her head. The mob stopped in their tracks once more as they watched the rocks around Terra begin to levitate, spinning slowly in orbit around her.

The fearful anger of the people had turned to pure fear as they rocks began to pick up speed and as they did Terra began to levitate off the ground herself. She was the center of this hurricane of stones and the stones began to get bigger with each passing second.

The ground began rumbling again but this time it was deep underground. The surface was just a causality in its wake.

The mob didn't want anything to do with this anymore and began running for their lives dragging Terra's mother with them.

_"LET GO OF ME!!!" _Her mother shouted, _"SHE NEEDS ME!"_

But the mob paid her no attention. They dragged her off thinking she would only be killed in her daughters wake.

Terra looked through the spinning debris of rocks to see her mother being dragged away. She began balling as the pain in her head continued to tear into her. The more she cried the faster the rocks orbiting around her spun. She couldn't take it anymore.

She let out one final cry of pain, sadness, and regret. The deep rumble turned into an explosion of rock sending massive boulders in every direction. The pain was so intense she blacked out. And the rain continued to trickle down on her as thunder rolled across the sky.

When Terra awoke what she saw was something like armageddon. There was no one around. No signs of anyone. When she realized she was all alone she began to panic.

She searched the rubble for her mother but found nothing. She began to cry, cursing herself for not listening to her mother when she should have. So she forced herself to listen to her mothers final words to her... and she began running as far away as she could.


	44. All Caught Up

**A/N: To all my readers, welcome back. In case you missed my comment I posted... I've been looking for my missing cat for the past week. He is really important to me. So that plus school, work, my car breaking down, and the fact I'm fighting a crappy cold has made it really hard to focus on writing. So thank you so much for your support and kindness/understanding. It's been hell the past week but as I promised I'm still committed to this story and you guys. I hope you like this chapter. As always leave me a review and drop a fav/follow if you like what you read!**

Raven looked on in horror. The entire town had been hit by Terra's power leaving it uninhabitable. The mine was now collapsed and the buildings of the town barely stood. Luckily... no one was killed. But she could only imagine many were seriously injured.

The whole town was running from Terra and the further away from Terra the less the damage was. The explosion of large boulders were closest to Terra and they only got smaller the further away from her.

From where Raven was levitating the damage was much worse than what she saw at the lake. There was an enormous crater with Terra at the center. On the outskirts of the crater lay a half destroyed town with a mine that was now inaccessible.

This didn't surprise Raven much. After all... Terra had the power to halt an erupting volcano in its wake. But to think she had this kind of power at such a young age... Raven couldn't help but sympathize with her. She could relate on such a level with Terra that it upset her. It upset her that she couldn't see it before. As she continued to think about what Terra had just gone through, the memory faded and a new memory began to appear from the dust.

Terra was traveling from town to town. She was almost a teenager now. Everywhere she went she continued to try to gain control. One town she stayed in for a few days before a small earthquake she caused forced her to leave before it got any worse.

The scenery changed again to reveal another town high in the mountains. She stayed at for a week before a tremor she caused started an avalanche that nearly buried the town. The next town she stayed at near the ocean shore for a few weeks, before another earthquake she caused sent a tsunami barrelling at the land wiping out everything near the shore. She would progress in her control with each town she visit and the pain in her head would become lesser and lesser like she was getting used to it... But it still wasn't enough to save the people around her. When she turned 14 she decided to go from town to town not staying more than a day. She was tired of hurting people. Tired of being the reason others suffered.

Then she found a place to stay far away from a city but close enough to make trips for food and supplies. She found a cave miles away from a huge T-Shaped building that stood on an island in the distance.

As she made her way back to her cave, someone was waiting for her. A familiar face that Raven hated with all her being.

_"Hello Terra,"_ Slade said in his menacing voice.

_"Do... do I know you?"_ Terra respond a little frightened.

_"No... But I know you,"_ he sounded like he already had a plan for her, _"I know why you keep running. I know about what you've done."_

Terra's eyes went wide and she began to panic.

_"Relax child,"_ Slade said seeing the look on her face, _"I'm not here to hurt you. On the contrary... I want to help you."_

_"How can you help me?"_ Terra asked doubting what he was saying.

_"I can offer you control. I can help... save you from yourself. All I ask in return is a small favor."_ Slade's gaze turned sinister.

Terra wasn't convinced, she didn't think what he was saying was possible,_ "what favor?"_ She asked out of curiosity.

_"I'm sure you heard of the Teen Titans, yes? They might think they are heroes destined to save the world but they would doom the world in order to save it."_ Slade sounded confident.

Terra raised an eyebrow. What he just said made no sense to her.

_"You're not an evil girl are you? You just can't control your gifts. Am I correct?" _Slade tried to clarify.

Terra's eyes welled up with tears as she thought about all the people she's hurt on her journey for self control.

_"I didn't think so. You take no joy in the suffering of others. But that doesn't matter to people. They see what you've done and despise you for what you are." _Slade's tone grew more and more dark, _"the Teen Titans are no different. They might call themselves heroes but when they find out what you are they will hunt you down and lock you away like any other criminal."_

_"If I can learn to control it they won't have to. If I can learn to control it maybe I can be a hero too!" _Terra said trying to keep her only sliver of hope.

_"Dear child... you and I both know you can't be a hero," _Slade started walking past Terra to take his leave. He stopped at her side and looked down at her with his one visible eye, _"make no mistake. The Teen Titans will find you. It's only a matter of time. Don't let them find out who you REALLY are." _He looked up from Terra and continued walking, _"I'll be in touch."_

Terra watched him walk off into the distance with an enormous amount of concern on her face. This made her reseach the Titans a bit more. She learned that they are actually good people with good intentions. Nothing like what Slade had told her. She even wanted to meet them someday... Maybe... But she always kept what Slade told her in the back of her mind.

Raven clenched her fists after seeing the interaction unfold in front of her. Slade had reached her long before they had even met.

The memory faded and another appeared. The tower could be seen in the distance as Terra ran through a small canyon miles outside of the city.

Raven recognized this memory. It was the day they met. Terra was being chased by a massive scorpion when the Titans jumped into action to help her only to see she didn't need any help. She was luring it into a trap.

_"I'm Robin. We're the-"_ Robin was shortly interrupted.

_"The Teen Titans! Rock on!"_ Terra exclaimed bumping Robin's fist with her own.

They all started heading to the Tower to get to know Terra better when Slade appeared from the shadows above them on a cliff looking down at them. _"Don't get too attached my young friend... I saw her first."_

The scenery changed once again. It was night and Terra sat on the shore of Titan's Island skipping rocks across the water flawlessly like when she was little.

_"So I'm guessing the couch was too lumpy?"_ Beastboy joked as he walked up behind her.

Raven watched the following interaction and grew a little jealous. Beastboy clearly cared about her and he had only just met her. They skipped rocks together, flirt with each other, and had a long meaningful conversation... but towards the end of it Terra lifted the rock Beastboy was sitting on into the air knocking him back and drenching him in water as the rock went splashing into the sea.

_"Don't tell! Please don't tell!"_ Terra begged.

_"So you can't control your powers... big deal... My friends will like you-"_ Beastboy tried to console her before he was interrupted.

_"Promise you won't tell anyone! Swear it!"_ She demanded from beastboy.

Raven was now angry at Beastboy. If he had told them maybe they could have all helped her before she... Raven sighed. There's no point in dwelling on it now.

The memory faded as another appeared.

Terra was fighting along side the Titans at a site she was familiar with. It appeared to be a mining site and tunnels were coming and going in every direction. Slade seemed to be after a powerful diamond in this mine.

As the fight raged on Terra lost control once more and nearly crushed Beastboy, ending him permanently. Luckily he survived but Terra ran in fear. Which may have been Slade's intentions at the mine all along. While she was running she saw a familiar person running through the tunnels. Before she knew it she was face to face with him right where he wanted her.

Terra had been told by the Titans that Slade was a bad guy. She had seen his face but she never heard his name. Now she felt like she was tricked and wanted to confront him again to tell him off and that she wanted nothing to do with him. So she chased him down the tunnel only to fall into his trap.

After Slade doubled down on convincing her the Titans were not really her friends she began to get angry. Her powers took over and she started to lose control again.

Slade saw this and didn't want to get buried alive so he decided to run leaving Terra with one final message.

_"No one can understand you Terra. No one else can help you! I'll be waiting." _After he made his message clear he fled leaving Terra to wallow on her pain.

It seemed hopeless for Terra but just before she was about to fall prey to her own power Beastboy jumped to her aid and tried to comfort her. As he did Terra fell into his arms and let her pain out by crying into his chest. Her power faded and they sat in the tunnel holding each other.

_"Promise..." _Terra said weakly.

_"I won't tell anyone," _Beastboy immediately respond, _"I promise."_

Raven lowered her head. She saw this tyical Beastboy behavior and couldn't help but cherish him. But one thing she noticed was that everything he was doing for Terra... he has done for her as well. Maybe he did have feelings for her even if he didn't know it.

The memory faded as the scenery changed to the living area of the tower where all the Titans stood in front of Terra who was getting ready to leave. Robin was handing a communicator to her after they decided to make her part of the team, only to hear that Robin knew she couldn't control her powers. Terra dropped the Titans communicator and turned to Beastboy.

_"You told?! How could you?! You promised!"_ And she darted out of the Tower without another word. She was terrified that if they ever found out what she has done they'd lock her away just as Slade had said.

The memory then changed into the time Terra had returned to take up the Titans on their offer to be a Teen Titan after she somehow gained total control over her powers.

Raven and Terra worked together to save the Tower from Slade. Raven knew now it was just a way to trick the Titans into trusting her. She still blamed herself for not seeing it sooner.

The next memory appeared... Terra extend a hand out to Beastboy from his bedroom window.

_"Do you trust me?"_ Terra asked.

_"More than anyone I've ever met,"_ Beastboy replied taking her hand.

Raven could tell he was head over heels for her and it made her heart sink in her chest. She hated seeing these memories. She didn't think it would be this hard on her. But she shook it off and continued watching for Terra's sake.

The next memory appeared. Terra and Beastboy were at the carnival on a date. They sat in the ferris wheel talking to one another and the conversation was haunting.

_"Beastboy... If you knew something bad about me... would you still be my friend?" _Terra asked.

_"Of course,"_ Beastboy respond without hesitation.

_"No matter how horrible you'd still like me right?"_ Terra asked trying to clarify.

_"Yes."_ Beastboy confirmed moving in closer to her,_ "I promise Terra. No matter what."_

As they got closer to each other it looked like they were about to kiss. Raven turned her head. She couldn't allow herself to wacth this memory. The pain in her chest was unbearable. But something forced her to look back... The sound of a familiar voice.

_"Hello Terra,"_ Slade sat behind Beastboy watching their every move. Spoiling the moment they were having, _"remember me?"_

The memory faded and Raven now found herself in the house of mirrors where she had found Beastboy after he had run away. He stood in front of Terra confronting her on what Slade had just told him.

_"So it was all a lie?!"_ Beastboy questioned.

_"You said you'd be my friend no matter what remember?"_ Terra was pleading with Beastboy to forgive her and continue to be her friend.

_"Slade was right... You don't have any friends,"_ Beastboy's words struck Terra like a dagger to the heart. That moment changed her for the worse.

Raven felt a mixture of emotions. She was proud of Beastboy for not letting his feelings for her blind him anymore. But she also felt bad for Terra. She finally had a real friend but an evil criminal had ruined that for her. But she was mostly mad at Terra. Mad at her for hurting Beastboy like that. He showed her nothing but kindness and love and she obliterated his heart in a matter of seconds.

The next memory appeared. Terra wore a suit of armor with Slade's emblem "S" on her chest. She had just attacked and defeated each of the Titans one on one and now patrolled through the city she had just claimed in the name of Slade.

_"My name is Terra. I have done horrible things,"_ Terra spoke to herself as if coming to terms with who she really is,_ "I have betrayed and attacked everyone who used to be my friend. One by one I have destroyed the Teen Titans,"_ Terra sounds confident like she knows exactly what she's talking about. But something in her voice says she's not happy. Like she wishes things could have been different, _"My name is Terra. I have done horrible things... I have have absolutely no regrets."_

Raven found herself in a deep cavern. A place she remembered well. The resting place when Terra sacrificed herself. The battle between her and Slade continued on as the Titans rushed to free Beastboy from the rocks Terra had trapped him in. She had taken control. Of herself. Of her life. Of her power. But when Slade tried to retake that control from her she couldn't contain it anymore and her power triggered the infamous volcano.

_"You were the best friend I ever had,"_ Terra gave Beastboy a final goodbye hug and unleashed the rest of her power stopping the volcano in its tracks and turning herself to stone.

Raven had nearly forgotten how brave that was of her. How she gave up everything to save everyone. She felt bad that she didn't forgive Terra sooner.

It went silent. Everything faded into black nothingness like when she first entered Terra's subconscious. It was eerie. It made Raven feel cold and uncomfortable but she could tell Terra didn't feel the same way. Terra had a sense of peace surrounding the darkness.

Raven was then taken by surprise when a blinding flash of white light flooded the vast darkness and she witnessed Terra fall to her knees with her stone armor crumbling off her.

Raven knew this was the moment she defeated her father, Trigon. She's only seen a similar light like that once in her life.

From here Raven knew Terra could remember everything else from here, on her own. She took a deep breath and concentrate her power to return to her origin and the memory of Terra waking up in the cave began to shrink into the distance until it vanished from sight.

In the real world... The night continued on with the horizon showing signs of the approaching twlight. The barren emptiness of the desert Raven had brought Terra to was still quiet and peaceful. The sounds of night life and crickets still filled the air.

Raven opened her eyes to see Terra gasping as she sat up straight. Beads of sweat rolled down her face and she looked like she just watched the most terrifying horror movie.

Raven watched her to see if she could remember anything.

"Terra..." Raven started, "can you... remember?"

Terra wasn't even phased by the question as she sat there breathing heavily. She raised her left hand to her face as if trying to tame her vision. After a long moment of silence she finally looked at Raven with the biggest look of remorse Raven had ever seen.

"Just take it slow," Raven said trying to help, "it's a lot to process all at once."

Terra's expression didn't change. It was like she was at a loss for words. Her life literally flashed before her eyes.

"Just take a deep breath," Raven continued, "your past is behind you. Just like mine. All we can do is move forward."

Terra looked at Raven. Her face looked like she didn't believe what she just saw, "I hurt..." her voice trembled, "all those people." She sounded horrified of herself.

Raven could see the battle she had in herself. She covered it up so well when Raven first met her but now it was like she had to live with it as if it happened a few hours ago.

Raven looked down knowing all to well the battle Terra was fighting in herself.

"Listen," Raven began, "you're not the only one who's hurt a lot of people. I know how hard it can be... Living with what you've done in your past," she looked up at Terra who was intently listening to every word she said, desperate for a way to cope with what she just experienced, "but that's just it... You have to keep living. You have to use that struggle to give your new life and your second chance a purpose. Just because someone says your bad doesn't make it true. If you are trying to be a better person. If you're _trying _to do the right thing. That's what makes you a good person." Raven looked up at Terra with a small smile. She truly believed every word she said. It made her feel better about her own past as well.

Terra's face relaxed. She didn't know what Raven has been through but she could tell that Raven had done something just as bad if not worse than her. This terrible thing... that should have been the end of her. Yet here she is. She's still hopeful. She's still going. Finding her way in life like everyone else. It gave Terra hope. If Raven could do it... Maybe she could too.

Terra grew a small smile and her tears began to roll down her cheeks. She reached out to Raven and swarmed her with a tight hug that took Raven by complete surprise.

"You we're right," Terra whispered, "I'm not alone." She began to sob into Raven's shoulder.

Raven hesitated but after hearing what Terra whispered it brought her an unexpected comfort. A warm feeling that somehow filled a void in her heart. She didn't feel alone anymore either. Someone else understood the pain in her heart. She eased her arms around Terra and gently squeezed back. This strange bond she found with Terra felt good and it was the last thing she expected from Terra.

The sun began to rise over the horizon, dawning a new day. It seemed fitting for them. A new sunrise. A new day. A new beginning.

But as the sun rose it revealed something lurking in the darkness of the twilight.

"Touching... Very touching," a sinister voice spoke through the darkness.

Raven and Terra began frantically looking around for where the voice was coming from. They both knew exactly who this voice belonged to. As they searched they both found who they were looking for as he spoke again.

"You're definitely right about one thing Raven," Slade sneered as the sunlight revealed his presence, "our new lives _do_ need purpose."


	45. A Little Protection

**A/N: To all my readers, thank you! As requested I went back to the last chapter and edit a few things to help it make more sense. I hope it clears things up. But if not let me know so I can work on it! Thank you so much for the reviews. I love all your attention to detail. It really helps keep this story true and accurate. As always leave me a review to let me know how I can improve or just let me know how I'm doing. Please drop a fav/follow if you like what you read! Thanks again! I hope you enjoy!**

The sun continued to rise over the horizon. What should have been the perfect start to a new day and a new beginning took a quick turn for the worse. It was shaping up to be a new nightmare instead.

Terra and Raven stared at Slade and their expressions grew intense. Resentment and rage radiated from both of them. Slade stood with his hands folded behind his back and stared right back at them with no signs of remorse or sympathy.

"What? Am I not allowed to say 'hello' to my former allies?" Slade sneered sarcastically.

"I was _never_ your ally," Raven spat back with force.

"Raven... How could you say such a thing?" Slade tilted his head forward making his glare feel more direct, "I was practically your uncle for a time..."

"Shut up!" Raven shouted as she stood to her feet. Her anger grew more intense and her eyes began to glow as her aura fumed with dark energy. She moved in between Terra and Slade as if defending her from him.

Terra watched their engagement with confusion. She still didn't know the details of what happened between them. Let alone the story of Trigon being Raven's father.

Slade didn't flinch. He stood his ground like a mountain. The confidence coming from his demeanor was unsettling.

Raven watched him closely. She didn't know what he had planned or how he was going to fight but she knew he was someone she couldn't underestimate.

"What are you planning? What do you want?" Raven demanded answers.

"She didn't tell you?" Slade said turning his gaze to Terra. He then looked back at Raven and squint his one eye with an evil essence, "I want revenge. I want to make all of you suffer the way _I _suffered."

Raven had heard enough. She raised her hand at Slade. Her hand then surrounded itself in dark energy.

"Please..." He mocked as if she was no threat, "I know better than to fight a girl more powerful than evil itself..."

"Then this should be over quickly," Raven said with anger, "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!"

Silence surrounded them.

The air stood still. It was a cold and ominous. The glow in her eyes faded and the dark energy around her vanished. Nothing happened. Not a single thing happened to Slade. As if her words meant nothing and fell on deaf ears.

Raven gasped in shock. Her expression turned to worry as she slowly began to panic.

"A little lesson I learned from your father," Slade said confidently, "if you're going to take on an interdimensional demon... you're going to need some protection." He raised his right hand from behind his back to reveal a ring that had a white glow emitting from strange letters engraved on it. The glow faded, revealing the ancient text clearly and he continued to boast in his confidence, "or rather... the daughter of one."

Terra gasped when she heard this. She looked up at Raven as if staring at the most famous person in the world. She now understood why Raven could sympathize with her. She was the product of evil itself... but Raven herself wasn't evil at all. Terra could only imagine the things that Raven was capable of and the things she had done even if she didn't want to do them. Just like her.

"A ring of Azar?" Raven asked even more confused now, "that only works for _him_. It shouldn't have any affect on-" Raven was interrupted as if Slade knew what she was going to ask.

"Oh come now... Do you think I was on vacation the whole time you were fighting the Brotherhood of Evil? I spent months studying the ancient texts left behind by the Order of Scath. They created the ring of Azar to protect themselves from Trigon's wrath," he shifted his gaze to his raised hand where the ring shined in the morning sun, "with some alterations to their spells and enchantments I created a ring to protect me from something even _more_ powerful."

Raven changed her stance getting ready to run as Terra stood up behind her. They were not in a good position and she knew it. Sweat began to roll down her temple from under her hood.

"I'm curious though..." Slade continued, "what would happen if the person this ring was _made_ for... wore it herself?"

Immediately following his words red eyes lit up on the ground below the girls and a hand made of very the dirt that they stood on shot up from underneath them holding a steel collar.

Raven gasped in horror as the collar approached her neck too fast for her to react. But the hand made of dirt stopped in its tracks just before it reached her. It was shaking with the collar in its grasp as if fighting an unseen force holding it back.

Raven's jaw dropped and she spun around to see Terra with her one good hand glowing yellow. It was raised towards the creature made of dirt as if she were commanding it to stop in its tracks. She was groaning as she strained to use her power with only one hand but it was just enough to stop the omnidroid from competing its task.

Raven wasted no time in seeing her efforts and began to surround the two of them in dark energy to teleport back to the Tower. As the dark energy surrounded them it seemed like they were going to make it out safely. It seemed like everything was going to be ok...

But as if reaching into the void, Slade's hand shot through the darkness. His ring left him unaffected by her power. He grabbed Raven's hood, pulling her out of her dark energy just before they were teleported.

"RAVEN!!!!" Terra screamed as the dark enery continued to surround her. With a hand outstretched to her as if trying to catch Raven before she disappeared forever, Terra watched as her new friend that she made a very close bond with vanish from the small orb of darkness that was surrounding them.

When the dark energy faded around her she found herself standing in the living area of the Tower. The sun shined through the windows lighting up the room. The tv remained on from earlier that night. But now it was playing early morning programs for people getting ready for their early start to the day.

Terra's eyes darted around the room in confusion. When she finally realized where she was her face went pale with panic.

"Raven?" Terra asked the empty room. She was wondering if she made it back with her, "Raven?!" No answer came. Her eyes began to water. She was left all alone once again.

Terra fell to her knees and began to cry. Even when she had control of her powers people close to her still ended up in danger. They still ended up suffering. She couldn't take it anymore. She didn't want to live in this world. A world filled with cruelty. Cruel enough to torture a kind and gentle soul for loving her. Curel enough to force young girls to do unspeakable things against thier will. A world filled with endless struggle.

_"We have to use that struggle to give our new lives purpose."_

Ravens words came back to Terra. She lifted her head up as her tears continued to pour out of her. Her blood began to boil with rage. She found a new purpose. Terra would put a stop to the cruelty. She would ensure no one has to suffer the she and her two closest friends have.

Terra stood and began running to the door to the hallway but before she got to the door it slid open as Robin was walking into the living area. He wore his sweat pants and hoodie with, of course, his mask. He was just about to head out for his morning run.

"Robin!" Terra shouted sliding to a stop in front of him, "we need to go! We have to save her!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Robin said with his hands raised. His eyes went wide after seeing Terra in such an dramatic state, "slow down. _Who_ do we have to save?"

Terra went silent and stared deep into Robin's eyes as if telling him telepathically. Robin looked back into Terra's eyes and his concern began to grow. He looked around the room as if hoping beyond hope he was wrong in his assumption. The room was still and silent except for the tv continuing its morning program. When he didn't find what he was looking for his jaw dropped and he spun from Terra running back into the hallway. He pulled his communicator out and hit the distress alarm, alerting the other Titans.

Terra's anxiety grew more intense. Her thoughts were running wild and they just wouldn't stop flooding her mind. It bothered her so much she began pacing in the living area not knowing what else to do.

Starfire and Cybrog came rushing into the living area where they found Terra pacing back and forth. Terra's head shot over towards them and her face said it all for the two Titans. When they didn't see Raven they got worried and Robin was nowhere to be seen. They started to wonder what this was all about. All they knew was something serious had just happened.

"Where's Robin?" Cyborg asked sharply.

"Right here!" Robin shouted behind him as he came running into the living area behind them. He had his usual uniform on now, "Cyborg look up Raven's communicator location!"

"On it," Cyborg rushed over to the computer and started tracking down Raven's location.

"Robin?" Starfire said shyly, "why must Cyborg locate Raven? Should she not be here, with us?"

Robin looked at Terra with a serious expression, "tell us what happened. Where is Raven?"

Terra looked back at Robin with her tongue tied. She was so stressed words just couldn't form sentences for her.

"I... uh... I..." Terra stammered.

"We don't have time for this! What happened?!" Robin's voice was growing fierce.

Terra's fear of Robin jolted her mind and kick-started her story.

"Slade!" She finally got the words out, "he-he came out of no where! He had this... this thing!" She tripped over her words from speaking quickly, "it stopped Raven from using her powers on him! He even reached right through her power when she was teleporting us and pulled her out of it! Next thing I know I was here and she was... she was gone!" Terra was trembling. She had no idea what was going on or what Slade wanted with her.

Starfire gasped. This was terrible news. How could Raven... The same Raven who over powered the embodiment of evil... Have her powers halted. What could possibly do that to her?

"Oh..." Starfire trembled, "I fear our friend needs our assistance."

"Don't worry as soon as we know where she-" Robin stopped short when Cyborg spoke up.

"Uh... Are you sure?" He pointed to the giant screen in front of them, "this says she's right outside the Tower."

A puzzled look came over all the Titans and they started looking to each other wondering what on Earth was going on. The door bell rang through the Tower and they all stared at the door.

"Someone must have stolen her communicator," Robin said angrily. He turned his head slightly towards the team and uttered an order under his breath in a grim tone, "let's give 'em a warm welcome."

Robin drew his staff as Starfire began floating with starbolts in her hands and Cryborg readied his sonic cannon. Terra stood behind them ready to help however she could.

They rushed to the door and opened it quickly with a loud intimidating shout. However, they all stopped in their tracks when they instead found Raven standing on the other side of the door. All their eyes went wide and their faces were blank with a massive look of confusion.

Raven's robe was tattered and torn in a few places and dirt splotches covered her face and body. She obviously looked like she'd been through a lot. But one thing they noticed wasn't normal was the collar around her neck. It was like a steel collar the police put around crazed villains to restrain them in prison but it had strange letters around it. Written in a language none of the Titans could read.

Raven had a painful look of frustration on her face and she looked to all the others as her eyebrow twitched.

"Will someone please... GET. THIS. THING. OFF ME."


	46. Keep Your Friends Close

**A/N: To all my readers thank you! Welcome back to the next chapter. I know it can be a bit confusing but it will all make sense soon! Sorry it took me a while to get you another chapter but as I promised, I am going to see this story to the end! Thank you again for all your reviews! They definitely make writing this story worth while! If you guys have any ideas to help me improve or think there's something i need to fix let me know. As always leave a fav/follow if you like what you read. Thanks again! I hope you enjoy!**

Waves crashed on the island as the morning continued on. The sun shined down from a steep angle as it rose, leaving a long shadow from Raven leading into the Tower where her friends stood staring at her in mass confusion. But the confused silence didn't last long when Starfire burst with joy seeing Raven.

"My friend!!!" Starfire exclaimed as she rushed over to Raven wrapping her arms around her with all her strength, "I am so pleased to see you safe and unharmed!"

"Seriously..." Raven emphasized, "not a good time."

"Raven?" Terra said surprised to see her. She approached Raven from behind Starfire's hug, "what... How did you..."

"Can we talk about that later?" Raven said angrily shrugging off Starfire. She then pointed to the steel collar around her neck, "JUST GET THIS OFF ME!" She shouted so loud the Titans jumped in fear and their faces went pale as if the end was coming. And for good reason too. The only times they have ever seen her angry like this, it never ended well. But this time... there was no sign of her power anywhere.

"Uh..." Cyborg said shyly, "I'll... see what I can do..."

Raven walked past them and Cyborg followed her to the couch of the living area. Raven sat down with a loud sigh and sat up straight so Cyborg could get a good look at it. Cyborg leaned forward towards her and looked at the collar with a sense of bewilderment. The symbols on it were reminiscent of his research on Trigon not too long ago. He scanned the collar as the other Titans gathered around the two.

"Looks like it's just made of refined steel," Cyborg concluded as he finished his scan, "I can have it off in an in a minute or two."

"Just hurry," Raven said. She sounded anxious like a piece of her identity was missing.

Robin looked at Raven with a serious intensity. Everything about this didn't seem right to him and yet... Something about this also seemed eerily familiar to him.

"So..." Robin began, "why didn't you just... let yourself in?" he sounded like he was probing for certain answers.

"I didn't think I could," Raven answered sharply, "Slade was able to completely stop my powers. What else could he have done to me with this thing? Not to mention I never use the front door. I always teleport inside."

Robin's face grew more intense as he watched Cyborg fiddling with a few gadgets he was using on the collar. He was not convinced.

"So what happened then?" Robin continued, "how did you escape?"

All the Titans looked at Raven and paid close attention to what she was about to say.

Raven looked at them as if unsure of what to say, "I... I don't wanna talk about it," she spat in frustration, "I just want this off me." She looked down as Cyborg finally managed to break the collar free. It fell to the ground next to the couch with a loud clang like a broken cymbal.

Raven closed her eyes and raised her hand to her neck and began rubbing it like her neck was raw.

Robin knew something was up. Even though is was normal for Raven to not talk about things, this was different. She was distant and hard to read but lately she was starting to grow more in touch with her emotions. But now she seemed like she had reverted back to her old closed-off self.

Raven looked back up at the others. She noticed one Titan was missing, "where's Beastboy?" She asked.

"He's still in the medical wing," Cyborg answered. He felt like she should have known that and it made him wonder if she was really ok, "I gave him some medicine. He should be back to normal soon." Cyborg gave a small smile as if he was trying to comfort her.

Raven grew a small smirk. Cyborg saw this and it gave him a bad feeling. He has seen a lot from Raven lately. Especially when it came to Beastboy. A pause with an awkward silence filled the room as tension started to fill the air.

"Speaking of..." Cyborg said trying to excuse himself from the awkward tension, "I'd better go check on him." He stood up straight and started heading to the hallway door.

Raven stood up immediately after he began making his way out of the room and began to follow Cyborg, "I'll go with you." She said quickly.

The rest of the Titans looked at each other. Raven was acting weird. Well... A different kind of weird. She wasn't acting like Raven at all. Acting like this after an encounter with Slade... this couldn't be good.

As the two exit the room to go check on Beastboy Starfire looked at Robin with an uneasy expression.

"I know our friend does not act, the normal, but that was... strange, yes?" She asked him.

Robin couldn't help but agree with her. Everything about this seemed completely wrong. It didn't make sense. Why did she ring the doorbell? Why didn't she just let herself in? What happened that would make her not want to talk to her friends about her encounter with Slade?

Terra watched as Robin was scouring his mind for an explanation. She may not be as close to Raven as the others but she too could tell something was off.

"Robin?" Starfire asked again wondering what he was thinking.

Starfire's voice snapped him out of his pondering trance and he looked at the two girls, "I'm not sure. But I don't like it." He voice had a fierce sense of distrust behind it.

Cyborg and Raven were walking side by side down the hallway to the medical wing. Cyborg felt as if the awkward tension followed him out of the living area and he couldn't help but feel pressured to talk to Raven to see if he could lighten the mood.

"So..." Cybrog began, "uh... I'm... glad you made it back safe." He gave her a nervous smile.

Raven stared straight ahead as if ignoring him. She didn't even seem to think Cyborg was next to her. She remained one step behind him as if she were following him like she didn't know where she was going. This put Cyborg in an even deeper tension. He didn't like this. Something was very wrong.

"You sure you're alright?" He asked sharply.

Raven looked at Cyborg and realized he was talking to her, "huh? Yeah. I'm fine."

"Well... Just to be safe I'll run some tests on you when we get to-" Cyborg couldn't finish as Raven loudly interrupted him.

"No!" Raven said sternly.

Cyborg stopped in the hall and looked at Raven confused.

"I mean... No. You don't have to do that," Raven said softly. She didn't sound convincing like she was hiding something.

"Ok," Cyborg said sternly having had enough of this mind game, "what's up? This isn't like you. You wanna tell me what's going on?" He asked like he was demanding answers.

"Let's just get to the medical wing and then I'll tell you," Raven said trying to dodge his questions.

"I don't think so," Cyborg retaliated, "what's going on with you? You're acting... well... weird."

"Isn't that how I always act?" Raven asked like she was genuinely wondering if she normally acted weird.

"Not like this," Cyborg shot back, "lately you've been more... I don't know... Normal."

Raven looked down and started to wonder what that meant. She didn't know what else to say.

"Listen... after everything we've been through and after you and Terra literally faced Slade alone, I think there's nothing wrong with being on the safe side and double checking everything." Cyborg sounded very convincing. He was right. There was no harm in doing a quick check up just to be safe.

"I just don't want to, alright?" Raven said sternly. She was being adamant about not having anyone talk to her or check on her well being.

Usually this would be normal to Cyborg but after everything that's happened he wasn't sure this was normal anymore.

After a long and painful silence he let out a heavy sigh and agreed.

"Fine. But I still think it would be good idea to at least run a few tests." He insisted as he continued walking down the hallway.

Raven looked up at him like she was denying his advice and followed closely behind him. As they reached the medical room, the door slid open and the two walked inside and approached Beastboy's bed.

"Cy! What happened?! The distress signal went off and I was totally freaking out! No one told me what was going on and I wanted to come help but I didn't want to slow you gus down! Is everyone ok-" Beastboy was talking so fast the two could barely understand him.

"Yo, dude!" Cyborg interrupted trying to calm him down, "chill! Everyone's fine," he paused and looked at Raven, "sort of..." He walked over to his bedside and began checking fluids and the levels of each medical device Beastboy was still connected to.

Beastboy let out a sigh of relief and looked at Raven, "what happend?" He asked softly.

"Nothing," Raven said back. She seemed to only give short one-word answers.

"Uh... O...k..." Beastboy respond not believing her.

"Raven and Terra ran into slade late last night while they were trying to recover Terra's memories," Cyborg filled him in since Raven obviously wasn't going to.

"What?!" Beastboy exclaimed as he began to freak out again, "you ran into Slade?!" He paused and let the rest of the situation sink in, "wait... YOU TRIED TO GET TERRA'S MEMORIES BACK?!" Beastboy was beyond shocked. From what he could remember Raven and Terra did not get along at all.

"He attacked us," Raven respond in her dark monotone, "we escaped. What else is there to know?"

"A lot," Cyborg immediately respond with frustration, "like how you managed to get away without your powers? And how did Slade find a way to _stop _your powers?"

"What's it matter?" Raven shot back, "we're back aren't we?"

"Uh... Slade stopped your powers?" Beastboy said completely confused.

"Yeah man," Cyborg answered for Raven, "she had this collar thing around her neck that had weird symbols all over it like the ones from when we fought Trigon."

"Dude..." Beastboy said with complete concern, "Slade has turned into the ultimate butt kicking machine."

"Yes," Raven said with a dark smile, "he has."

The boys looked at her like she was crazy. She didn't sound like she was worried but more impressed that he was capable of such things.

Beastboy began to get nervous around her. Even he could tell something was off after speaking to her for just a few minutes. Something about her seemed familiar... something he's seen before. Not so much a visual aspect... but a feeling. Almost like a sixth sense kind of feeling.

Raven saw their reaction and tried to correct herself. She changed her expression to concern and spoke softly, "but we'll find a way to stop him."

Cyborg and Beastboy looked at each other with a sense of worry. Cyborg continued to replace the IV bag and filled a syringe with more of his own medicine and administered it to Beastboy.

"How are you feeling?" He asked his green friend trying to change the subject.

Beastboy lifted his arm and tried flexing. He winced but the pain was not nearly as intense as before, "a lot better actually. That stuff you're giving me is really doing the trick!" he chuckled.

"Well yeah," Cyborg laughed back, "it's _my _medicine after all." He praised himself proudly. He looked at the screen that showed Beastboy's bodily injuries. What once showed tons of red dots indicating damages and tears was now dwindling fast. Nearly half the dots were gone showing a quick recovery for Beastboy, "I'd say a few more of these and you should be back to normal."

The two friends exchanged glances of hope and happiness for his speedy recovery. They both couldn't wait for him to be back in action. However, Raven remained silent at the foot of Beastboy's bed. She didn't have the look in her eyes that she had before. That look of desire for the shapeshifter in front of her. Instead she stared at him with a sense of detest. Even though she was trying her best to hide it.

"Raven?" Beastboy asked softly trying to get her to talk to them, "did you uh... get Terra's memories back?"

Cyborg looked at Raven wondering the same thing. No one had asked Terra yet and she hadn't said anything about it. When she didn't answer Cyborg decided enough was enough and started walking to a separate bed next to Beastboy's. Raven turned her gaze from Beastboy and watched Cyborg closely.

"Alright. That's it," he said aggressively, "take a seat." He motioned her to the bed and had a look of impatience on his face.

"No," Raven spat back. She was being very stubborn about having someone check on her. This was frightening to the boys. They began to get even more worried.

"Raven..." Beastboy said softly. But his voice merely drifted by Raven as she returned her harsh gaze back to Beastboy.

"I said no," Raven repeat herself. She then turned and left the room without another word.

Beastboy and Cyborg looked at each other. They've never been more concerned for her than now. It brought a lot of questions to their attention.

"Dude..." Beastboy said softly.

"Yeah," Cyborg respond, knowing exactly what his best friend was thinking, "something's not right."

The day dragged on and the sun had peaked and began its decent to the distant horizon. The Titans grew restless as all their questions about Slade still had no answers.

Raven was no where to be found now. As if she disappeared without a trace. Terra and the others were in the living area surrounding a half eaten pizza that they all ordered for dinner. However, most of the Titans weren't hungry. There was a strange and ominous atmosphere in the Tower and everyone was feeling it.

Meanwhile in the medical wing Beastboy snored loudly catching up on his prized beauty rest. The door to the medical room slid open as Raven entered. As the door slid shut she approached his bed as quietly as she could. She stood over him looking down at his weakened body as he slept. A dark smile crossed her face as if she had sinister thoughts prowling her mind.

The room went cold with a chilling feeling of something dark. Something evil. Beastboy sensed this in his sleep and woke up to see the horrifying smile on Raven's face looking down at him.

"Uh... Raven?" He asked with a slight tremor, "what... what are you doing?"

Her voice changed and it didn't sound like Raven at all. Instead when her lips moved a familiar Russian accent escaped from her that sent Beastboy's eyes wide in panic.

"I'm finishing _vwhat_ I started..."


	47. And Your Enemies Closer

**A/N: Welcome back! To anyone reading this, Thank you! I never would have imagined almost 60 people would enjoy my writing enough to actually follow my story this long. Seriously thank you all so much! And thank you for the reviews. They make this all worth while for me. I love seeing what you guys think and what you are hoping for or expecting in the future chapters. They make writing the story that much more fun for me! If you guys like what your reading drop a fav/follow or leave me a review so I know how I can better improve this story. Thanks again! Hope you enjoy!**

The Tower was filled with a dark and disturbing chill. Cyborg, Robin, and Starfire sat on the couch with Terra in the living area. On the coffee table in front of them was a half eaten pizza that had lost its delicious warmth and was now cold.

Robin was leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. He looked down at the cold pizza with his right hand on his chin as he continued to search for the answers he never recieved.

"Robin?" Starfire said softly, "what troubles you? You did not part take in the feast of the pizza..."

"Something's not right Star," Robin replied honestly, "something about this seems like it's happened before," Robin squint his eyes, thinking harder, "but I can't put my finger on it..."

Starfire looked at the pizza he was staring at and began thinking about what he said. Cyborg and Terra sat quietly watching Robin and Starfire tear their minds apart searching for anything that might shed some llight on the subject.

Terra now felt like a burden. It was her idea to go out late last night to see if she could get her memories back. It was her fault they were in this mess. She felt an uneasy pain in her stomach. Like Robin, she didn't eat any pizza with the others. Instead, she wallowed in her guilt and watched Starfire and Cyborg eat in front of her. She thought back to their encounter. Memories of when Slade forced her to be her apprentice started flashing through her mind. She could remember being controled by him when she wore his armor.

"Maybe Slade has some kind of control over her?" Terra spoke up, "like when he had control over me?"

"But she would have had to been wearing something he could use to control her," Cyborg countered, "the only thing that she had from him was that collar."

"Perhaps, he found a new kind of technology to command her mind," Starfire suggested.

"I don't think Slade is doing anything here," Robin responded to the three of them, "if there's one thing we know about Slade, when he gets his hands on you he will go to extreme lengths to make sure you don't slip away... He wouldn't just let Raven go and there's no way Raven could fight back if that collar really did subdue her powers." Robin looked down to his feet from the pizza. His head was starting to pound from how hard he was thinking. After a long moment he lowered his hand from his chin with a sigh and hung his head low as if giving up, "if I didn't know any better, I'd almost say that isn't-" He stopped his sentence short and his eyes went wide as his body sat up straight, stiff as a board.

He then threw himself over the back of the couch into a full sprint to the hallway door.

The others jumped to their feet in shock. Robin only ever acted like this when there was literally no time to waste not even on words or an explanation.

"Robin?!" Starfire shout as she began flying in the same direction.

Terra and Cyborg looked at each other and began running to follow them.

The medical room was dimly lit allowing Beastboy to rest easily. However, right now he wouldn't be getting any rest. The heart monitor connected to him beeped with every heart beat. The beeping was steadily increasing in speed displaying the fear he harboured to the whole room. Madam Rouge smiled as if the sound was music to her ears. She boldly kept her appearance of the dark Titan wearing Raven's face like a mask. To Beastboy it was like salt in an open wound which is exactly what Rouge wanted.

She morphed her arm into what looked like a sharp sword with a pointed tip and raised it high above Beastboy aligning the blade with his neck. She intended to butcher him like the animals he could become.

Beastboy was frozen in fear. Rouge was by far the most evil and most challenging villain he ever faced from his time with The Doom Patrol. She was as ruthless as a venomus snake and twice as deadly. His face held the expression of a toddler staring death itself in the face.

"I have _vwaited _a long time for this!" Rouge exclaimed as she savored every moment of Beastboy's fear, "don't be too sad," she mocked, "your creepy friend _vwill _be joining you soon."

With a chilling yell Rouge brought her arm down like a guillotine towards Beastboy's neck. In Beastboy's eyes, time slowed down. He watched the morphed arm coming down at him in slow motion one inch at a time. But what Rouge said sent his mind into a frenzy.

Beastboy's fear vanished. Even with this psychopath's blade coming down at him. He was no longer scared for himself but actually... Scared for Raven. If she wasn't here... then where was she? And what did Rouge mean when she said _your creepy friend will be joining you_? Do they intend to kill her?

Images of Raven began pouring through his mind. The time she healed his injuries from their first battle with Jinx, Gizmo, and Mammoth. The time she hugged him tightly after defeating Malchior. Then at the diner when she comfort him in his darkest hour. And again at the carnival when their faces came so close that they almost...

Beastboy realized something in that moment. Raven was precious to him. A true friend he couldn't live without. Someone he couldn't just leave behind when she needed him most. He wouldn't make the same mistake like he did with Terra. No. This time he would save her. He wouldn't let himself die here without a fight. Not while Raven needed him!

Time sped up and Rouge's arm came crashing with furious speed. Beastboy's face went from fear to anger. His heart was filled with a burning fire fueled by determination. He morphed into a small mouse easily dodging his attacker.

Rouge's arm cut through the bed Beastboy laid on with a loud crash as it sliced through. The bed lurched flinging the little green mouse into the air where he then changed into a small humming bird.

Rouge looked up at the bird and withdrew her arm returning it to its natural state. Her wicked smile only grew as if she were about to enjoy the hunt for the changeling.

"You seem to be fine now... Good," She mocked, "I _vwas _hoping you _vwould _make it interesting!" She lunged both her hands into the air stretching them out like rubber snakes.

Like heat seeking missiles, they traced through the air trying to track down the green bird. But Beastboy was too fast for her to keep up and eventually her arms receded back to her body to think up a different plan.

Beastboy returned to his normal body landing in a crouched position on the other side of the medical room near the windows. The only thing that stood between them was a half sliced medical bed that Beastboy was laying in just moments ago.

"What have you done with Raven?! Where is she?!" Beastboy demanded. His voice had a serious and bloodthirsty tone behind it.

"_vWhat _makes you think I care?" Madam Rouge said darkly. She then stretched an arm out to the chopped medical bed and snapped her arm back like a rubber band sending the bed flying across the room against the wall with a shattering clash as it fell to pieces on the floor. With the bed out of the way she walked slowly across the room towards Beastboy without a care in the world. Rouge changed herself back into her original form as if discarding her full body mask of Raven.

Beastboy's energy was spiking. The rush of adrenaline numbed everything in his body. He didn't feel any pain. He didn't feel any remorse. He would rip this evil woman limb from limb until she told him what he wanted to know.

As Rouge got closer Beastboy transformed into a massive grizzly bear that stood twice as tall as her. With a loud roar he threw himself at her.

This took rouge by surprise. She thought he would still be pretty weak from his injuries but here he is... Strong enough to fight back at full strength. He wrapped his powerful arms around her squeezing her with a literal bear hug.

Rouge strained in pain as she was crushed by the green bear. But she was cunning and quickly thought a way out. Moving quickly, she flattened her body and slithered to the ground stepping through Beastboy's legs. His wide stance made it easier for the rest of her flat body to follow her movement through his legs and regain her normal form standing behind him. Beastboy bent over looking under his legs behind him to see Rouge's legs standing there without a scratch.

Rouge regained her posture and delivered a flawless spinning heel kick, striking Beastboy from behind, sending him tumbling face first to the ground and sliding to a stop across the room.

Beastboy grit his teeth as his blood began to boil with rage. He stood up and whipped around morphing into a giant gorilla pounding on his chest unleashing a fierce roar.

Rouge cracked an evil smirk. She hadn't fought a gorilla since the last time she sparred with Mala. Now that he and the brain were gone she got a taste of nostalgia as the green gorilla continued to beat its chest.

The shapeshifter charged at Rouge bearing his teeth with a terrifying face. Rouge stood her ground as if a puppy were charging her. The look of confidence on her was taunting Beastboy, enraging him even more.

At full speed he swung a powerful back fist with his left arm. However, he only struck air as Rouge ducked under it to Beastboy's right side. Beastboy react quickly knowing the fighting style of his long time enemy and reached out with his right hand and grabbed her by the waist with one of his giant ape-like hands.

Rouge was about to shrink herself again to slip away as she always does but Beastboy knew better. Without wasting any time he made a fist in his left hand that had missed just a second earlier and threw it with all his might towards his right fist that gripped his enemy.

Rouge's eyes went wide seeing how there was no chance she could dodge this strike in time. The enormous fist landed perfectly on Rouge's right cheek and dazed her for a moment while Beastboy maintained his grip. He brought her close to his face to observe her more clearly if she were still able to fight or if she were down for the count.

Rouge looked up with a fire in her eyes. Now _she _was getting angry. After she noticed how close she was to Beastboy, she stretched her arms out in front of her and wrapped them around Beastboy's neck three times before squeezing tightly.

Beastboy released her and began reaching for his neck trying to free himself of her grip. But even with all his brute strength as a powerful gorilla she proved to be to strong and her grip was unbreakable.

Beastboy let out a squeal of desperation. It was like an anaconda wrapped itself round his neck and wouldn't let go. The changeling started whipping out every animal in his arsenal. He changed to a horse, to a hippo, to an egale, to a T-rex. He changed from animal to animal to try to shake her off but with each animal he changed into her girp only got tighter. Beastboy then changed back to himself and started to reach out in front of him at Rouge in a febal attempt to free himself. He gripped her arms and began sqeezing them tightly as if they would just break in his hands setting him free.

Rouge chuckled softly as her arms wrapped tighter once more. She watched the the little green hero choke and gag, fighting for air and failing to obtain any. The evil smirk returned to her face as she began to drink in the satisfaction of destroying her foe.

Beastboy's eyes were beginning to close as his struggle to survive began to fade. The restless flailing and desperate swings and strikes to free himself were growing weaker and weaker.

"Shhhh. Shh. Shh," Rouge maniacally comforted him, "it _vwill_ all be over soon." Her evil smile grew wider as if she were enjoying every last moment of this.

But her joy didn't last went a concussive blast from one of Robin's explosive disks struck her in the back forcing her to release Beastboy on impact.

Beastboy fell to his knees coughing relentlessly and gasping for air. As he did he looked up through blurry eyes to see Robin, Cyborg and Starfire standing in the doorway to the medical room ready to fight like their lives depended on it.

Rouge yelled in pain and her rage burned like a wild fire. She spun around only to be met with a second blast from Cyborg's sonic cannon sending her flying across the room landing on her side next to the windows. As she stood up she didn't even have time to breathe when a thrid blast from Starfire shooting a starbolt from her eyes hit Rouge in the center of the chest lifting her off her feet and sending her through the window, shattering the glass.

Rouge screamed as she fell from the Tower. But the fall wouldn't be enough to kill her. It most likely wouldn't even be enough to damage her. She was more likely screaming due to the anger she felt from losing her chance at destroying Beastboy with her own bare hands.

Starfire still had starbolts around her fists and her eyes glowed with a powerful green light. She flew to the window to chase down her enemy but when she looked down at the waves crashing on the rocks of the island, she was surprised to see Rouge was no where to be found. Her green glow faded and she turned back to her friends to see Cyborg and Robin kneeling next to Beastboy trying to help however they could.

Terra Stood in the doorway looking on helplessly. She was fighting back tears gripping the doorframe with her one good arm as if unleashing her fury on the innocent building. She couldn't believe that they didn't figure it out sooner. She couldn't believe that someone could do this to such a good person. It made her so angry she wanted to scream.

Beastboy continued to cough after every two or three breaths he would take in. He was struggling to find a rhythm in his breathing.

"Easy, easy," Cyborg said trying to slow his friend down, "just take a deep breath and hold it for a few seconds."

Beastboy did as he was told. He took in a long deep breath and held it for a few long seconds before finally releasing his exhale. He coughed once more but then looked up at the team with a petrifed look on his face. But it was more than that. There were tears in his eyes as well...

"Raven?!" He shouted, desperately looking from Titan to Titan for an answer. When he didn't see her. He turned his gaze to Robin as a few tears fell down his cheeks. He stared deeply at his friend begging for reassurance that she was ok. But Robin's face told a different story and Beastboy began to panic, "WHERE'S RAVEN?!"


	48. Chains

**A/N: To all my readers: welcome back! This chapter was really fun to write but I'm sorry its a little short! Building to the finale has to be a little suspenseful right? lol Anyways thank you so much for the reviews they have helped so much and the only reason I have so many people reading this right now is because of your reviews. Side note: I can't see private messages on the app so if you've sent me messages and I didn't respond its because I can only do it from my desktop and I just learned this yesterday. Sorry about that! As always, you know what to do! Drop a fav/follow and leave me a review. Hope you enjoy this chapter! Thanks again!**

Raven looked on in shock. The world seemed to slow to a stop as she was violently pulled out of her own dark energy. She dangled helplessly from the hood of her cloak as Slade held her up with just a single arm. Raven was frozen. So many things coursed through her mind so quickly, she didn't have to time focus on any of them. She just looked straight ahead in front of her where her dark energy continued to take form as the sun rose behind it. The sunlight was stretched out on the earth casting long shadows from small objects. Time began to catch up with her and reality struck when her dark energy disappeared in front of her and Terra along with it. Raven was all on her own now.

Slade threw his other arm around her. He held the collar his omnidroid had tried to put around her neck just moments ago... and like a devastating attack, he slammed the collar on the front of her neck sending the other half whipping around the back of her neck locking in place in front of her.

Raven let out a long cry of anguish and a bright flash of white light shined from the symbols on the collar. Ravens eyes glowed white like the collar for a moment and then quickly faded. The symbol's bright white color faded into a dim but constant glow.

Raven closed her eyes as if she were exhausted. Like her energy and youth had been sucked from her leaving her weak and fragile.

Slade released his grip on her hood and she fell to the cold floor landing on her knees. She was too weak to hold herself up even on her knees. She felt helpless. She hadn't felt like this since Robin found her as a little girl when her father had begun his reign of terror on the earth. Her mind drifted into unconsciousness and she fell to her side laying in the dirt.

Slade stepped closer to Raven's limp body and looked down at her, laying unconscious and unable to fight back.

"Remarkable," Slade reveled in his victory, "it seems the ancient order really knew what they were talking about."

He lifted a foot to Raven's shoulder and rolled her over to ensure there was no doubt she wasn't a threat. Raven rolled to her back and her arm fell lifeless to the floor next to her. She moaned as if in extreme discomfort but didn't wake from her unconscious state.

Feeling more confident, Slade knelt next to her and reached down into Raven's cloak. He was searching for something... When he found what he was looking for he chuckled softly. He pulled out her communicator and started breaking it down piece by piece as if he were rebuilding it from the inside out. Once he heard a single beep he stopped what he was doing and chuckled once more.

He raised his hand to his ear as if pressing a button to communicate with someone, "Rouge, I'm patching Raven's signal to your counterfeit communicator. I'll leave the rest to _you_."

_"I must admit... You are a much smarter and more terrifying villain than the Brain," _Rouge laughed in Slade's ear piece,_ "rest assured I vwill finish what we started."_

Slade began to put the communicator in his pocket but he couldn't help but notice something else was in Raven's cloak with the communicator. He reached in once more to pull out something he wasn't expecting... A small copper coin valued at only 1 cent.

Slade snickered as he turned the penny over in his hand. He remembered this coin. It was the same coin she held as she became the portal for Trigon's arrival.

"You'll need much more than luck from a lost penny this time, Raven." He sneered. He knew she couldn't hear him but it felt good to say such despicable things to his enemies and his confidence only grew as his omnidroids began appearing from the elements around him one after another in droves.

Hours later Raven slowly began to regain consciousness. She groaned as her eyes began to slowly open. Her vision was blurred at first but as they began to focus she noticed her wrists had iron cuffs with chains on them. This sent of jolt of adrenaline through her veins. She sat up quickly to see she was laying on the cold smooth surface of a concrete floor.

The room she was in had no windows but had a single light that lit up the entire room. It was a relatively small room. Something like a bedroom for a toddler or small child. As she looked around, she noticed the walls had symbols like the ones on her collar. They were written all over the walls surrounding her as if the room were a back-up collar in case she managed to get out of the collar around her neck.

She stood up and realized just how dizzy she was. She stumbled for a moment and the sounds of her chains rattling echoed through the room. After a short moment she regained her balance and the dizziness faded. She started to walk towards the only door in the room but before she could take more than three steps her chains locked up and tugged on her wrists, sending her arms back behind her, stopping her in her tracks.

She looked back to where she was just laying. The chains on her wrists weren't just bound together, they were bolted to the ground in the center of the room. Raven took a longer look and she could see it was just one long chain going from one wrist, thread through an iron loop bolted into the concrete, and connected to the other wrist.

She walked back to the center of the room where her hands would have the most freedom in their current situation. She pointed her hands at the iron ring with the chain running through it.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinth-_AHHH!_" Raven let out a painful cry. The collar around her neck still had its glow of white symbols but when she recite her enchantment the glow intensified and drained all energy from Raven causing her pain before the glow returned to its dim shade of white.

She reached up to her neck and felt around the collar looking for any weakness in any spot but she wasn't the least bit surprised when she found none.

Raven let out a sigh. It really did seem hopeless at his point. She couldn't get herself out so her only hope was her friends. She knew that Slade was smart enough to take her communicator but she decided to check anyways.

She reached into her cloak and her eyes went wide. She could care less that her communicator was missing. She knew it would be. But when she didn't feel the small jagged surface of her most treasured possession she began to tremble. Her hand was darting to every corner of her pocket hoping that it would somehow miraculously appear out of nowhere but when she came up empty handed she fell to her knees and began to weep.

The sound of unlocking from multiple heavy locking mechanisms began to fill the room over her sobs and the door swung open behind her breaking the circle of symbols on the walls.

"Looking for this?" Slade said with a devilish tone as he stepped inside.

Raven whipped her head around hearing his voice and her eyes locked on what he was holding up. Her face went dark with rage. She looked like she was going to tear him apart one body part at a time. Usually this kind of emotion would send Raven into an uncontrollable state. Her eyes would turn red and her voice would change, but instead... the collar around her neck just glowed a little brighter as if absorbing all that raw emotional power.

Raven didn't care that her powers were being suppressed by this steel ring around her neck. Her anger was boiling over and there was only one thing she had her mind on.

"Give. That. Back." Raven said softly with the most gruesome tone in her voice.

Slade looked at the coin and began to mock her, "what is it that your friend said? ... Oh I remember, _find a penny, pick it up-_"

"SHUT UP!" Raven screamed as she rose to her feet, "I said give it back!" She lunged towards him only to get reeled back by the jolt of the chains locking behind her.

"_You're_ not the one who needs any luck right now, Raven." Salde respond without hesitation. He put the penny in his pocket and stepped closer to Raven just out of reach from her chains. He sounded like he knew something and was hiding it from her. Something evil.

"What... what do you mean?" Raven asked cautiously. She wasn't sure if she really wanted to know the answer to that.

"Madam Rouge..." he hissed, "she is paying him a visit as we speak." He towered over her looking down at her with total control.

"That's not possible. She would never be able to get into the Tower no matter who she pretends to be!" Raven shot back with angst.

"Normally you'd be right," Slade respond, "but lets just say... _you _will be the last thing he ever sees." He squint his one eye showing how serious he was.

Raven's eyes widened and her jaw dropped. If Rouge _was_ disguised as herself would her friends be able to tell? Do they know her well enough to spot an imposter pretending to be her? Her mind ran wild with a dark imagination.

"No..." She trembled, "no! They would know! They could tell it's not me!" Raven shouted as if trying to convince herself. But she still had a lingering doubt in her heart. After all... she has always kept her distance. She never opened up to anyone unless it was absolutely necessary. Her friends only knew so much about her... and that was her own fault. She thought it would be best if they didn't know her. She thought she was protecting them but now... for that reason... it could be the end of them as she knew it.

Raven began to panic. It was possinle she might lose him after all. After everything he survived he still wasn't safe. Her face wore visible signs of fear and anxiety from the situation she had no control over and her desire for the coin Slade had tucked away vanished.

Slade saw this reaction. It was just a mental game to him. Slade was simply testing the waters to see if his suspicions were accurate and her reaction told him everything he needed to know.

He was about to speak when his ear piece fired up and a transmission started coming through to him.

_"You vwere correct. The green one's affections have changed. He admires the dark one now." _Rouge sounded angry. Like she was running from the fight but she wanted to go back and continue fighting. But even _she_ couldn't take them all on at once so easily...

"It seems the feelings are mutual," Slade respond as if they planned this all along, "this may work in our favor." He turned and began walking out of the room, "it's time we began phase three." He stopped at the door looking over his shoulder at Raven.

_"Understood," _Rouge respond as the communication cut out.

"Cheer up Raven," Slade said darkly, "you're boyfriend will be coming to see you _very_ soon."

Raven looked up at him with hope in her eyes but she didn't like the sound of that. What was he planning? Was he talking about Beastboy? Why did he _want _him to come find her?

"And when he gets here," Slade continued turning back to the doorway, "you can both suffer together." Slade's voice trailed off in a dark tone. Much darker than usual. He stepped out of the room and the door slammed behind him with a loud crash like iron clashing against iron. The sound of heavy locking mechanisms whined and clicked one after another making the door seem impenetrable.

The silence returned and Raven slowly dropped to her knees in the center of the room. She was completely confused as to what was going on. After everything Slade had said to her it almost sounded like he was implying Beastboy was coming to save her but the thought of that made her stomach churn. Because if that were true it could only mean one thing...

This was just another trap for Beastboy but this time... _she _was the bait.


	49. Spirits

**A/N: Hey everyone! Sorry its been taking a while. School dumped 5 projects on me all at once so I've been spending a lot of time on that. But I'm so excited to publish this chapter! Drop a review if you've liked what you've read so far and let me know how I can improve. As always drop a fav/follow and I hope you enjoy! Thanks for reading!**

"Raven... Where's Raven?" Beastboy whispered.

_"Your creepy friend vwill be joining you soon."_ The words haunted Beastboy like an evil spirit. The more he thought about it, the more it burned into him eating him away like virus.

"Where is she? Where is Raven?" he repeat himself.

The medical room was quiet. After Rouge had escaped and the situation calmed down, Beastboy lost it. The only thing that could be heard was his voice repeating itself over and over like he was trying to force the answer out of thin air.

Robin and Cyborg had helped him back on the bed to make sure he was ok. But Beastboy didn't seem to acknowledge them or their help. He had gone completely internal. His mind was completely shrouded by an overwhelming mixture of horrifying thoughts and powerful emotions.

After a very long and stressful moment of silence aside from Beastboy's pleas for Raven's where abouts, Starfire couldn't contain herself anymore

"I wish to know what happened now, please..." She asked sharply

Robin turned from Beastboy as Cyborg continued to run a few tests. His eyes held a disturbing sense of anger and fear. He knew that where ever Raven was... She was not safe. She was not ok. The one person who knows her every weakness, her every flaw, and her entire past now had his hands on her.

"We _will_ get her back," Robin said with a slightly clenched jaw. He then walked past Starfire without looking at her and marched straight to Terra, "where was the last place you saw Raven?" His voice was intimidating. He sounded like he wasn't going to let anyone get away with this even if it meant going against everything he stood for.

"I..." Terra felt uneasy. The emotion coming off Robin was truly terrifying. You didn't need to be an empath like Raven to feel it, "I don't know," Terra replied honestly.

Robin squint his eyes at her like he knew she had to know _something_, "that's not good enough," he shot back, "I know you're going through a lot... but you were the last person to see her. Think hard. Where did she take you? What did it look like?" He wasn't raising his voice but he got the message across that he was beyond serious.

Terra's heart began racing. It really was a life or death moment. She looked down and began searching her mind for anything. Anything that she could tell them that might be useful.

"It was dark... there was nothing in sight. Like a desert. We were far from anything just in case..." Terra closed her eyes and started to think about every little detail. Memories of her past flood her mind. All her travels from town to town. All her mistakes. Everything was flashing through her mind so quickly she began to break a sweat just thinking about it.

Then she thought about when she laid down in the dirt. Looking up at Raven just before she drifted to sleep. The stars above her were clear as day. It seemed familiar like she had laid down in the dirt and stared up at those same stars before.

Another memory came to her and eyes shot open, "I-I think I might have an idea of where she took me."

"Take me there," the void of silence in the room was suddenly filled with a very determined tone coming from Beastboy.

Terra looked over Robin's shoulder at him and felt a twinge of pain in her heart. The passion he once showed for her was now being shown for someone else. For some reason... it hurt.

"I... don't know exactly where... but I think I get get us close," Terra said unsure of this idea.

"That's good enough for me," Beastboy said with force. He started to get out of the bed and Cyborg started to get worried.

"Hold up man!" He urged, "we don't know if you're 100% yet. Let me check to see if you can even-"

"I don't care!" Beastboy interrupted spinning around to face his friend, "Raven is missing and I'm not gonna sit here helpless anymore!"

Robin turned from Terra to Beastboy, "I don't think that's a good idea," he said softly. Beastboy was about to raise his voice in protest but before he could Robin continued, "but I have to agree." The room went silent once more as all eyes stared at Robin, "_no one_ will rest until we have her back home." he sounded different... Almost desperate. Like getting Raven back was of the upmost importance.

"Yeah but-" Cyborg said before getting interrupted again.

"We're going to need all the help we can get. That means we're _all_ going to help. We're _all_ going to save her!" Robin said sharply putting his foot down.

The Titans looked around at each other. They were getting pumped up. It was now or never. All or nothing.

Cyborg sighed and decided to ignore the logic of making sure everyone was fit enough to go after her and looked at Terra, "I just have one question... Where are we headed?"

Terra looked around the room to find all eyes were now on her. She felt an intense amount of pressure but her new found connection to Raven gave her strength and she clenched her fists to calm her nerves.

"You remember where you guys first met me?" She said boldly.

The Titans all started heading for the living area. They were about to make their way to the T-Ship when an alarm started blaring through the Tower.

"What now?!" Cyborg said showing his frustration.

The massive screen from the living room lit up and started to display a terrifying scene. The city has under siege from an army of omnidroids they had faced earlier at the abandoned factory. Citizens were shown fleeing for their lives as they avoided a mass of creatures marching through the streets destroying everything in their path.

Fires blazed on every other building as they rampaged. The attack clearly started only a few mintues ago but the damage was so extensive it seemed to be a well thought out, well timed and well coordinared attack of terrorism. Almost too perfect...

All the Titans looked on in shock. How did this happen? Why? What should they do? These questions ran through their minds like wild fire. Only one of them knew what he had to do.

"We can't go after Raven while the entire city is being destroyed!" Cyborg shouted. As much as he hated to admit it... He knew that Raven would want them to save the city over her.

"This isn't some coincidence of bad timing," Robin said with angst. He knew exactly what was happening, "Slade doesn't want us coming for Raven at all."

"Robin," a sinister voice said as the screen changed to an image of Slade standing with his hands folded behind his back in a dark secluded room, "just as intuitive as ever I see." Slade said mockingly.

Starfire gasped as she saw his face for the first time since their battle with Trigon, "why do you do this?!" She exclaimed in anger.

"I'm proving a point," Slade respond instantly, "you're not the heroes you claim to be. Even with the city being destroyed you haven't gone anywhere or done anything to try to help. Why? Because you are more concerned with a single little girl than you are with lives of everyone else." Slade pulled a hand from behind his back and flipped a coin off his finger where it hovered for a moment before landing back in his hand.

Beastboy knew instantly what coin that was. He had given it to Raven on the worst day of her life to try to cheer her up. Such a small act that had turned into an immensely important moment.

"Where are you keeping her?!" Beastboy screamed at the screen.

"Rest assured, she is unharmed," Slade said tilting his head down slightly, "even I wouldn't try to harm the daughter of an interdimensional demon. However, you could say she isn't... feeling like herself."

"Tell me where you're keeping her!" Beastboy demanded.

"Where's the fun in that?" Slade spat back "I told you... I'm simply trying to prove a point."

"Which is?" Robin said through his teeth.

"You don't care about that pathetic city. If you did you would have never even allowed Raven to become a Titan. Instead, you doomed the entire planet by taking her in. So I will show the world that you would rather save a half demon girl, capable of eviscerating the entire world, over the innocent lives of the people you claim to protect." Slade made it sound like he already knew how the outcome of this was going be, "so you have to choose. Your evil friend... or the innocent city." Slade leaned forward towards the screen to let his final words to them settle in, "tick-tick Titans. The longer you take to make a decision the more people get hurt."

The screen cut out and when back to the scene of the city being destroyed. The Titans found themselves in a yet another bind. If they went to protect the city... there's no guarantee they could even win. These creatures are nearly impossible to destroy. Beastboy took one down and it nearly killed him in the process. They needed a plan and quick.

"Titans listen up," Robin said eagerly, "we can't let Slade take this city down without a fight-"

"You guys do what you want! I'm going after Raven!" Beastboy shout interrupting him.

"Beastboy listen!" Robin urged but he was met with resistance as Beastboy argued.

"No you listen!" He yelled, "Raven's in trouble and I don't care if the whole city burns down! I won't let Slade do this again!"

The room went silent as the tension grew. But instead of getting worse, the mood seemed to lighten as Robin continued to stare back at his teammate.

"I know you won't," Robin replied softly as if understanding his emotions. He then walked over to Beastboy and put a hand on his shoulder, "you and Terra need to go find Raven. The rest of us will buy you as much time as we can. But once you find her you need to get out and come find us. We can't win this fight without you." His gaze tightened on Beastboy's eyes as he empahsized what he meant, "Without _both _of you." Robins face was stuck with grief... he knew something that the others didn't. Like this would be the Titans last battle together.

Terra noticed this and it filled her heart with a heavy sadness. She looked at Beastboy who had calmed down and studied his reaction. She could see the fire in him burning with desire and determination was no longer out of control. It looked like he had harnessed it in that moment. Like he had a power within him waiting to be unleashed. It lifted her heart that maybe this wasn't a bad thing. Maybe this meant it could lead to bigger and better things for them.

Beastboy's expression relaxed as he soaked up all of Robins faith and trust in the team. He grew more and more determined. His heart started pounding as the thought of Raven's capture was dominating his thoughts. He knew without a doubt... this was going to be the hardest fight they ever had.

With a nod, Beastboy turned to Terra. Their eyes locked on one another. As they studied each other it became clear to both of them. They had a common goal. This is a fight they will not lose. They would find her and bring her back. Without any words spoken they both ran off towards the exit.

Cyborg and Starfire watch them leave confused as to why Robin would allow this. He's never done something like this before. The team has split up before but not like this. There was always a deeper plan behind it... but this time they were running in blind.

Robin watched them leave with a heavy heart. He could only hope he didn't just send two of his closest friends to their doom... but he couldn't sit idly by while his city burned.

"Do you really think they can handle it?" Cyborg asked with a great amount of concern.

Robin turned to him and gave a look of pride, "I know they can do it." He lowered his head knowing just how risky this decision was but he looked back up at the others and tried to explain, "something tells me... That Beastboy won't fail. Not _this _time."

Cyborg and Starfire looked at Robin with a sense of serenity. Robin had put his complete faith in their little green changeling. They knew Robin always believed in them but this was an entirely new level of trust they've never seen from him. It lifted their spirits to the point they too believed Beastboy could do it. He could win. He could save her.

Starfire's eyes began glowing green and she slowly float off the ground as her adrenaline started rushing through her.

"Come!" She shouted aggressively, "We must not fail our friends!"

"Couldn't have said it any better myself," Cyborg said strongly lifting a fist in front of himself.

Robin cracked a smile. His faith in his teammates boosted their confidence ten-fold.

"We've got a city to save." He smirked.


	50. It Begins

**A/N: Welcome back everyone! I've been finding time to write every week. So I hope that is good enough to keep you guys on board. I wish I could write everyday but school, life, and work keep getting in the way. You know how it is. lol Anyways we're almost done with this story and I'm shocked that almost 70 people are following it and I have nearly 200 comments. Truly... THANK YOU! I was not expecting that what-so-ever. Some of you wanted a season 7 and I think I'm gonna do it with a Starfire storyline. If you guys want me to write that let me know in the comments! Please leave a review and let me know what you think. As always, drop a fav/follow if you like what you're reading! Thanks again! Hope you enjoy!**

Terra and Beastboy rushed out the front door. They stopped at the edge of the island where waves crashed against the rocks at their feet. In the distance the sun had nearly set and fires from the city illuminated the streets in an inferno of terror.

Terra looked at Beastboy who's eyes were fixed on the red glow from the the city. She began to wonder if maybe Raven could wait as the city needed their full attention. But Beastboy spun around to Terra meeting her gaze with a chilling sense of conviction. Terra blushed as she found herself staring back at him with admiration.

"Let's go!" Beastboy yelled to her, "Raven needs us! We won't let her down!"

Terra's blush vanished as Beastboy's mind was centered on one thing and one thing only: Raven.

"Right... Um... I think it was this way!" Terra shouted back. She lifted her hand towards the ground and her eyes shined with a bright yellow glow. The ground around the two of them began to rumble as it lifted into the air carrying both of them over the waters below.

"Terra?" Beastboy said in shock. He was about to turn into a pterodactyl to carry Terra off when this took him by surprise, "you got your powers back?!"

"Long story," Terra said quickly, "I'll tell you later!" She didn't want to talk about it considering she only had one hand and it made controlling her powers that much harder. She needed her complete focus.

The rock began to pick up speed and they began moving quickly in the direction of the barren desert not too far from the tower.

Far away in an old broadcasting tower, Raven sat on the cement floor with her legs crossed underneath her. She held her hands up in their usual meditation pose and she was silently chanting.

_Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos..._

The weight of the collar around her neck had faded as she got used to it. It still held its dimly lit white glow from the symbols engraved around it. Thoughts were pouring through her mind that she needed to dive into meditation to try to understand.

_What is he playing at? What does Slade want from me? Why is he so determined to get at Beastboy? Why is he so sure Beastboy will even come for me?_

She continued to search her mind for answers. Answers that seemed to have no meaning. It was all so confusing to her. None of it made sense.

_Azarath, Metrion, Zin-_

"Trying to figure out what my plans are?" Slade's voice sounded into the room, interrupting Raven's meditation, from what could have only been some kind of intercom, "you need only ask. It's not like you'll be around long enough to do anything about it." Slade sounded as if her life was as fragile as glass that he could easily shatter at any moment.

Raven thought for a second but only one thing came to mind that she wanted an answer to, "Why? Why are you after Beastboy? How could he possibly be of use to you?"

"My, my," Slade said with sarcasm, "is that emotion you're showing? Careful Raven, you might destroy the world if you keep that up."

"Sorry to disappoint you but I found another way to control my powers. Now answer me!" Raven's voice grew louder with anger as she demanded the answers Slade had half promised her.

"Well, I suppose we have some time to kill," he said darkly, "if you must know... I _don't _have any use for your little boyfriend. However, a deal's a deal. And I pride myself as a man of my word."

"What deal?" Raven asked confused.

"You really don't know?" Slade said as if insulting her intelligence, "Rouge was kind enough to lend a helping hand with her DNA. After watching her fight you and your friends an idea came to mind. An idea that was so perfect I couldn't let it pass me by. None of the Titans were a match for her power. But her alone against all of you proved to be too much for her. But what if... there were more like her?"

"Those shapeshifting creatures?" Raven asked making the connection.

"Her DNA has the ability to realign and redistribute her cells in any way she sees fit. With a little genetic engineering I combined her DNA with the periodic table. Allowing my omnidroids to take the form of any element they come into contact with by realigning and redistributing their molecular composition." Slade continued to explain.

"Then why Beastboy? What does he have to do with this?" Raven asked trying to piece it all together.

"Rouge only agreed to help me if I promised to help destroy him." Slade said sinisterly.

Raven gasped. The though of Beastboy coming to save her only to get himself killed sent her heart into a frenzy.

"After you and your friends had frozen the Brotherhood of Evil, I freed her. She seemed convinced the only reason you had rallied and won the battle was because Beastboy brought you all together in desperate times. She wouldn't rest until he met his demise." Slade finished.

"No..." Raven said softly under her breath. She couldn't accept it. But it all made sense now. Luring him away with Terra. Forcing him into hiding by making him hurt innocent people. Using Terra as bait to get him alone. Their target from the beginning was Beastboy and she, as well as the rest of the Titans, had missed it. Which is exactly what Slade had intended from the beginning.

"I'm impressed Raven," Slade said mocking her, "your level of emotion for this green changeling was quite unexpected. But lucky for us he feels the same way towards you. This will make things much more... fun."

"If you hurt him I swear I will-" Raven began before getting interrupted.

"You'll what?" Slade spat, "your powers are useless, you're chained to the floor, and the only person coming to save you is an injured shapeshifter who can't even form a half decent plan of action."

Raven lowered her head. She wanted to prove him wrong but from where she sat she knew he was right. But something deep down told her that he was wrong. Memories of Beastboy defying the odds ran through her mind. Like the time he saved Terra which in turn saved the city. He was faced with death but his words and actions granted Terra the strength she needed to over power Slade. Then the time he managed to form a plan to get the remaining Titans into the Brotherhood of Evil's lair and save the rest of the Titans _and _save the world as well.

Moments like this started to drown her thoughts. Despite all the evidence that pointed to her assured demise she had hope. Hope that they would make it out of this. With her head held held low she respond to Slade's evil words.

"He might be an idiot... He might be gullible... He might even be weak..." Raven closed her eyes as images of his face, his smile, and his strong body filled her mind, "but he's _my_ idiot. He's _my_ weakling. You'd better not underestimate him. I know him better than anyone. He won't go down easy. Not without a fight!" Raven lift her head to the ceiling where the intercom seemed most present and her face held a look of ferocity as if she knew something Slade didn't.

Slade turned the intercom off and spoke to himself, "hmm... That was unexpected... We best keep our guard up." He said with angst as he stared back at Raven on the screen in front of him.

Rouge approached from behind and stared at the screen with Slade as a wicked smile cracked across her face. She was confident there was no threat from any of them.

Jump city continued to burn. The omnidroids were attacking anything and everyone without hesitation. A woman carrying her small child was running from one of the creatures while the father did his best to fight it off allowing them to escape. But his efforts were useless as the creature was made out of bricks from the building nearby and swung a back hand across the man's chest sending him flying into the street.

An out of control car was zig-zagging down the road trying to navigate through the chaos and was on a collision course with the man. He braced for impact and was accepting his end when Cyborg dropped down from above landing in between the car and the man.

With a loud grunt he slammed his hands into the front of the car stopping it dead in its tracks. The airbag deployed on the driver and when it deflated the man driving got out of his car and started running.

Starfire had flown down from where she dropped Cyborg and picked the man up off the street and pointed to his family.

"You must get to safety! Evacuate immediately!" She ordered.

The man snapped out of his shock and turned for his family in a dead sprint. They all started heading for the outskirts of the city as fast as they could.

The creature made of bricks began chasing after them until Cyborg hit it in the back with his sonic cannon. The creature turned around to face his new enemy.

"That's it!" Cyborg taunted, "come and get a piece of Cyborg!"

Three other Creatures had witnessed the strike to their comrade and jumped down off the buildings they were attacking to aid in combat.

Cyborg felt dumb for opening his mouth. A bead of sweat rolled down the back of his head as he now faced 4 enemies instead of one. Each was made out of different material. One remained as bricks, another was asphalt from the street, while the other two were made of iron and water.

"Hold on... Can't we talk about this?" He said nervously as they approached him.

The whirring of a bike engine roared as Robin leapt off of it with a perfect backflip, sending the bike into the four creatures like a bowling ball at four pins.

It landed dead center in first creature toppling it back into the others. Robin then landed in a strike-ready stance as he threw an explosive disc at the bikes gas tank detonating the bike along with it. In the massive explosion the creatures were sent flying in different directions.

"Booyaahhh!" Cyborg yelled happy to see he wasn't about to get his butt kicked.

"No time to celebrate. These things don't go down easy. We need a way to beat them!" Robin shouted trying to figure out how they can win against an indestructible army of elementals.

The four creatures started getting up after being hit hard by the explosion.

"How?!" Cyborg asked with frustration, "now matter what we do they just keep coming at us!" He began firing his cannon at the creatures as they began to get up.

Starfire flew above the other two Titans, her hands glowing green with starbolts and joined Cyborg in a barrage of warcries as her bolts came raining down on them. As the four omnidroids regained their composure they assumed their natural pale form and started heading back towards the three Titans with poweful starbolts and sonic blasts impacting on top of them and their surroundings.

Robin started straining his head for any kinda of plan to take them on. But nothing came to mind. Behind him he could see more of the omnidroids attacking civilians. He threw more discs at the creatures exploding on impact getting their attention. They turned from the civilians and started to move towards him... This gave Robin an idea.

"If we can't destroy them, then we have to lead them away from the civilians. Start rounding them up and forcing them to the center of the city!" He said with confidence.

The other two Titans didn't hesitate and started moving through the city with Robin. They were going to start from the outer edge of the city and spiral inwards through the buildings and streets getting the attention of every last one of the omnidroids so the people could escape safely.

As they continued to maneuver through the city like a maze, throwing explosives, starbolts and sonic blasts at every creature they saw, the ranks of the omnidroids began to grow steadily. Before long there were 100 of them on the Titans tail and they hadn't even made their way through a fraction of the city.

"Man..." Cyborg said nervously as he fired his cannon behind him at the creatures, "I hope BB finds Raven soon!"

Terra and Beastboy zipped through the air towards the destination that Terra had in mind. As they approached, Beastboy recognized the area. It was where the Titans had first met Terra. He looked up at her as her eyes continued to glow yellow and his mind flashed back to how he felt when he first saw her.

The feeling of butterflies flapping around in his stomach. Unable to speak clearly and anxious to get her approval. A time when things were simple. A time when they were happy. However, as he stared at her these feelings did not return to him. He admired her but he didn't feel the same as he did back then. He looked out at the horizon as the darkness of the sunset continued to overtake the land. He closed his eyes and pictured Raven.

Her amethyst eyes. Gorgeous pale skin. That small smile that rarely ever appeared, but when it did, it could light up the darkest room.

His heart started racing. His stomach felt light as if something was floating around inside and he desperately wanted to see her. The feelings he had when he first met Terra now seemed to resurface when he thought of Raven. He grit his teeth. He was going to find her no matter what the cost.

Terra began to slow them down as they crossed the vast empty land in darkness. She landed gently and they both jumped down off the rock.

"I think it was somewhere around here..." She said unsure of herself.

"It'll have to do," Beastboy spout. He changed into a bloodhound and started sniffing the air and the ground around him searching for Raven's scent.

Terra followed close behind him as the stars above began to appear in the black sky. She looked around for the constellations she remembered from when she was laying in the dirt. When she finally found them she looked in every direction to see if anything looked familiar.

Her eyes went wide and she pointed to her left and shouted to Beastboy, "I think it's over here!"

Beastboy looked up to where Terra was pointing and they both ran in that direction. Terra slowed to a stop and started searching the ground for any signs of their presence the night prior. She didnt find much considering a small breeze could easily kick dirt over their footprints and place they put themselves. But Beastboy started sniffing more and more intensely and finally returned to his normal form.

"I've got her scent!" He exclaimed.

He returned to the form of the bloodhound and continued sniffing and began walking in the direction where the scent continued to remain strong. Before long he had a trail to follow and began running in trace of it. Terra put herself on another levitating rock and began flying next to him to keep up.

Beastboy's determination grew and his confidence started to boost as he had a glimmer of hope that he could find her. As he chased her scent he thought to himself...

_Hold on Raven... I'm coming! _


	51. Heroes

**A/N: To all my readers, thank you! And welcome back! We are getting so close to the end of the story and I am kinda sad to see it end. But it has been such a fun ride. Seeing all your comments and reviews and just how into the story you guys have been. It really makes this all worth it. Seriously... YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST! Please leave a review to help me improve my writing. Tell me what you like, dislike, want to see more of/less of. As always drop a fav or follow if you like what you're reading. Thanks again! I hope you enjoy!**

The stars shined bright as a new moon remained invisible among the stars. The flickers of light hovered over the dancing blaze of the city.

Sirens were wailing as fire trucks manned with dozens of teams of fire fighters battled the inferno while the Titans tried to lead the army of invincible creatures away from their efforts. Teams of police officers coordinated the efforts to lead civilians to safety away from the city. They were extremely overwhelmed. Out-numbered by the flames and out-matched by the monsters creating them.

All hope seemed lost... But they continued fighting. The brave men and women fighting the blaze, helping the people escape, and the Titans fighting the army.

The Titans continued to attack each creature they came across as if taunting them to chase their every move. Starbolts, sonic blasts, and explosives were flying in every direction each landing on their mark getting the attention of the endless army.

As they continued to work their way around the city towards the center they found themselves facing a mass of enemies the three of them could not possibly defeat alone.

"We can't keep this up forever!" Cyborg yelled firing his cannon at another omnidroid. You could hear the desperation in his voice as if he knew they were facing the end, "we need _some kind _of plan!"

"I must agree with Cyborg," Starfire said shooting her starbolts, "at this rate we will surely be defeated!"

"Right now the city's safety is our mission!" Robin yelled trying to motivate his teammates, "once Beastboy and Terra save Raven we can regroup and go after Slade!"

Just as Robin finished that sentence, an omnidroid jumped down in front of the three Titans, catching them by surprise. Robin reached into his belt pulling out his staff and swung at the pale white creature.

The creature anticipated his strike and caught the staff with one hand. Shortly after catching it, it's hand began to turn into the reinforced platinum that Robin's staff was made of. Its body quickly followed and in the blink of an eye the creature had become platinum entirely.

Robin used the staff in the creatures hand as leverage and swiftly threw a heel kick to the chin of the creature following through into a back flip. His strike sent the omnidriods head snapping back as Robin swung through the air. The powerful blow forced the robotic creature to release Robin's staff. Robin completed his back flip and landed perfectly in a stance that was ready to strike again.

Cyborg and Starfire turned from their current targets to see the small battle taking place and redirected their aim to aid their leader.

Cyborg shot a sonic blast at the chest of the platinum creature before it could regain its stance from Robin's kick, knocking it back and forcing it to a knee.

Starfire wasted no time and sprung into action. She flew with all the speed she could muster, letting out a bone chilling yell, and blind-sided the jaw of the omnidroid using a powerful fist glowing green with a starbolt. Her strike sent it flying across the street caving in a brick wall of a burning building next to them.

The building was barely standing as it is. That was all it took for it to come crashing down on top of the platinum creature, extinguishing the flames in a pile of rubble and debris that glowed red with embers.

A cloud of smoke poured out of the building in every direction, flooding the street making visibility nearly impossible.

The Titans ran through the smoke covering their mouths trying not to inhale the toxic air. They coughed aggressively as they finally found their way out of the smoke back into the street where the on-going battle for the city continued.

The three of them looked back gasping for air trying to catch their breath only to have their spirits crushed as the numbers of creatures began to appear one after another from the haze completely unaffected by the smoke.

"How long do you expect us to last against these things?" Cyborg asked softly as if accepting defeat already.

"As long as it takes." Robin shot back with a vicious tone. He sent fist full of discs flying at the creatures exploding on impact slowing them down for a split second. The team used that split second to resume their rush through the city leading the army further and further away from the evacuating citizens.

Far away in the distance where the land was barren like a desert, the faint screams and explosions from the city could barely be heard. They were silent like whispers. Unless you knew what was happening you would never be able to guess what the sounds actually were.

Terra looked back through gentle, glowing yellow eyes at the city that danced with a warm shade of red so far away. The red glow lit up the smoke that rose into the sky blacking out the stars that would have been above the city.

Her heart ached for the people. For her adopted parents. She could only hope they made it out in time. She couldn't help but think back to a similar sight when she was the one leading the attack on the city. It made her heart sink in her chest.

When she turned her head back she could see the small green bloodhound had increased his speed and she was falling behind. Terra raised her hand, grit her teeth. The rock she was floating on picked up speed and started to gain on her ally.

_We must be getting close... Beastboy is starting to move faster and faster._ She thought to herself.

They came to a number of rolling hills that led to a steady slope that increased in elevation for almost half a mile. When they reached the peak of this slope they found themselves staring at a single building at the top of this small mountain.

The building had a massive satellite dish on it with an antenna towering into the air behind it. It was an old abandoned radio station.

Beastboy slowed to a jog, then a walk, and then stopped completely, panting heavily in his dog form. He shape shift to his human form and continued to breathe heavily, catching his breath. His face was fierce with anger. But he seemed to be in complete control. Like he was harnessing that raw emotion and channeling it to his benefit.

Terra hovered right behind him, letting her yellow glow fade. She slowed to a stop and let the boulder touch down softly to the dirt and quickly jumped off to stand at his side. She turned her head slightly to see Beastboy's expression. It startled her at first but then she looked towards the building in the distance.

_"You're not alone."_

Raven's words came back to her and shortly after... Terra's expression became the same as Beastboy's. She wanted to go in and save her new friend as well. For some reason she felt a very strong connection to Raven now. It was a feeling she was not willing to give up so easily. Terra was about to step forwards to advance towards the building when Beastboy spoke up, freezing her where she stood.

"Terra," Beastboy said, "I want you to stay here." He spoke firmly like he was not willing to negotiate.

"What?" Terra said almost angry, "fat chance!" She spat back, "I'm going with-"

"I said stay here!" Beastboy interrupt loudly. His eyes had glossed over as if he were fighting back tears, "you've been through enough. I won't let you go through this _again._"

Terra was taken by surprise. She thought Beastboy didn't have any feelings for her anymore. It was clear to her now that he still did... he just had stronger feelings for someone else...

"But-" Terra began.

"Terra please," Beastboy insisted, lowering his head, "please... I can't... I _won't _let you get hurt again."

Terra looked on at him. She could see the inner conflict he was facing and instantly understood what he was referring to. The day that _he _hurt her. The day he abandoned her to Slade.

Terra held her breath. She feared for both Beastboy and Raven's lives. They were the closest friends she ever had. She wanted to help. But Beastboy had a point... How much help could she really be in her current condition? She still felt small aches and pains from her injuries and her right arm was still in a cast, preventing her from using her complete power. As she thought about it she began to worry she might get in the way. That she might make it harder for the both of them.

Terra sighed accepting that she should stay behind for the best. She stepped closer to Beastboy and reached out to take his hand. She closed her fingers tightly around his and spoke softly.

"I know you can do it," she said gripping his hand tighter. Beastboy turned to look her in the eyes, "and I can tell she means a lot to you... More than I ever did," Terra broke eye contact and looked down at her feet, "just promise me... That after all this... We can all be friends. No matter what."

Beastboy was speechless. He was living his darkest memory in real time. But it was like he was given a second chance. A chance to correct his mistake. A chance to redeem himself. But this time... Slade had someone even closer to him. Someone he had grown to love and not even realized it until now. He wouldn't let her down. Not like last time.

Beastboy turned his body towards Terra's and placed a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him with tears in her eyes. The bond between them might not be what it once was but there was still something there. Whatever it was... it was stronger now than it had ever been. Even though they had never officially been together... it was like they had a mutual understanding between them. One that only past lovers could understand.

He stared deep into her eyes as if apologizing for everything... Turning his back on her when she needed him most. Letting her get hurt at the school. Letting Slade take her captive. He looked as if he was begging for her forgiveness.

Terra's eyes sent back a warm and embracing stare. As if she understood what his eyes were saying to him. She seemed as if she was accepting his apology and was expressing her forgiveness. But she felt as though _she_ should be saying this to _him_. She should be the one apologizing. She couldn't hold it in anymore and her tears began to stream down her face. The fact that he was the one feeling guilty for her past caused her to break down. She dropped her head and she began to sob softly into his chest.

Beastboy wrapped his arms around her tightly. Comforting her for a moment before the most important battle of his life.

"I promise." He said sternly as if sealing a sacred pact. He then gently released her from his arms and turned to begin running towards the old radio station.

Terra fell to her knees and watched helplessly as her closest friend ran off to what could be his doom. The world stopped around her and her blood went cold as the tears fell from her eyes.

As Beastboy got closer he morphed into a small bird and began to fly above the building looking for his best way to enter. Maybe if he was lucky... he could sneak in, free Raven, and escape without being noticed. Knowing Slade... He had his doubts. But it was worth a shot.

He flew down to a pair of air ducts that were on the top of the building and he changed back to himself. He wrapped his fingers around the vents and with a strong pull, it snapped off with a soft crack. He placed the vent down softly and turned into a small mouse jumping into the duct.

Beastboy scurried through the ventilation system as a green mouse. He checked every vent he as he passed them by. Peering into room after room seeing each one was either pitch black with darkness or completely empty.

He continued to follow the faint but familiar scent of Raven. Sage, lavender, and her favorite shampoo that made her hair smell and look amazing. His heart surged with adrenaline as he followed the smell. Then he heard something that stopped him in his tracks.

_"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos."_ Raven chanted softly as she meditate.

Beastboy could barely hear it but it was definitely there. Raven was there. He began running as fast as his little mouse legs could move to locate where the origin of the voice was coming from.

Vents started passing by him in a blur until he came to one where her scent and voice were most present. He stared down through the vents to see Raven sitting in the center of the floor with the same collar Rouge had worn to disguise herself as raven. Only this collar had glowing white symbols. Making it very clear that it had some kind of effect on her. It could be true after all that her powers were somehow being withheld from her.

Beastboy's anger grew as he continued to look down at Raven chained to the floor like an imprisoned slave. It made him want to make Slade and Rouge suffer the way she has suffered. The way Terra has suffered. The way _he _has suffered. His blood began to boil as the he stared at Raven's current condition. As soon as he got his hands on the two people responsible... He'd make them beg for mercy.

Beastboy was about to sneak through the vent when it snapped shut with a loud click nearly making him jump.

Immediately following that click, two new walls shot up fro the bottom of the duct trapping him where he stood in a small box. That box was then shot from its position like a cannon into a room opposite from the room he had just seen Raven in.

The box shattered into pieces as it crashed against the floor leaving Beastboy dazed on the ground as a mouse. He morphed back into his human form and began rubbing his head as he looked around to see where he was.

He gasped in shock as he looked up to see someone who had nearly killed him just hours earlier.

"Now _vwhere_ were we?" Madam Rouge taunted.

Beastboy grit his teeth as the anger resurfaced on his face. He didn't even respond. Instead, he turned into a massive mammoth. Something so large she couldn't attack him so easily. He let out a loud trumpet from his trunk and charged her with his tusks swinging wildly.

Rouge dodged easily by slinking under his swings and slithering in and out of his stampeding hooves until she stood behind him. She moved as agile as a rubberband with a mind of its own.

Beastboy slammed his head against a massive metal door with a unique locking mechanism. This door was just below the vent he had just been inside of as a mouse. It dawned on him this was the door to the one person he cared for more than anything.

His adrenaline began to pulse though his veins. He turned to see Rouge standing with a hand on her hip as if all the confidence in the world rested on her shoulders. The shapeshifter then turned into a velociraptor and started to circle the room. Rouge raised her hands in a defensive stance and began walking around the room opposite of her opponent, always facing Beastboy.

Beastboy had his claws up with his body leaning forward in a stance that was ready to strike at any moment. He stayed opposite of where ever Rouge was as well.

Madam Rouge stopped circling the room and a grin spread across her face like she knew something he didn't. Beastboy let out a loud hiss just before he was about to pounce. But something came crashing down on top if him stopping him from attacking.

Slade had jumped down from a dark hole in the ceiling with a slight shout. He landed on top of the green raptor sending him to the floor. Before Beastboy could react the feel of cold steel struck the back his neck and wrapped around the front with a loud click.

Beastboy immediately felt the familiar pain of electricity coursing through his entire body until he returned to his human form. Only then did the pulsing finally stop. He found himself breathing heavily as if all the energy in his body had been sucked out of him.

Slade stood up off the back of Beastboy and walked over to where his accomplice stood chuckling with her evil grin.

"You never learn do you?" Slade said in a dark and mocking tone. He looked over his shoulder where helpless green hero lay, "you're almost making this _too _easy."


	52. The Power Within

**A/N: Hey everyone! Thanks for reading! This chapter was SO much fun to write. I hope its just as much fun to read! I can't thank you all enough for all your support. Its made writing this so worth it. Please keep the reviews coming and I'll be sure to return the favor with a Season 7! As always please drop a fav/follow if you like what you're reading! See you next week! Hope you enjoy!**

_Azarath, Methrion, Zinthos._

Raven continued to meditate without her powers. Her mind focused on her enemies game in play.

_If I could just get rid of this... thing... on my neck. I could end Slade and all his evil just like I did with my father._

_"You can never be rid of me dear daughter," _A terrifying, familiar voice echoed through her mind forcing her eyes wide open in a panic.

_You're not here. That's impossible. I destroyed you! _Raven thought to herself.

_"My physical form may have been eradicated... but evil... Pure evil... is not something you can destroy." _Trigon made it very clear to his forsaken daughter that he was very much alive.

_No! I don't believe you! This is just a trick! _Raven cried out in her mind.

_"You may have been able to subdue me... but I have always been here... Within you." _He continued.

_Then why now? Why are you here? How did you come back?! _Raven demanded answers.

_"Your power was far stronger than I ever anticipated but luckily my former minion sealed your powers allowing me to return to my beloved daughter." _He explained.

"NO!" Raven shouted out loud, "WHATEVER YOU WANT I WON'T HELP YOU!"

_"You misunderstand me. I don't want YOUR help. I wish to help YOU." _His voice was dark yet convincing. It was hard to tell if he was being genuine but with Trigon's reputation it was most likely a lie to get what he wanted, _"you wish to be free of these chains do you not? I can break them. I can set you loose upon your enemies. That is what you desire is it not?"_

Raven sat for moment in silence and closed her eyes. She was stronger than she was last time she faced her father. She could defeat him again if she wanted. But then why would he help her? Why would he want to help Raven defeat her enemies?

She refused to believe any good would come of this. Memories of her father torturing her friends and obliterating everything she ever loved rushed through her mind. She grit her teeth and her rage began to boil.

"I would rather _die_... Than EVER get help from you." She spat through her teeth.

Trigon's laughter filled the room around her. It was dark and evil like he had accomplished some hidden motive.

_"Suit yourself girl," _he mocked with an evil chuckle, _"but the side of you I created won't be contained forever. My evil WILL be set free once more and when it is... you will watch as I end the life of those closest to you. Starting with... him."_

"GET OUT!!!!" Raven screamed at the top of her lungs. When she opened her eyes the room was silent around her. Her father's voice was gone and she was alone once more.

She took a few deep breaths in an attempt to calm her racing heart. When she finally calmed down she closed her eyes again and continued meditating. This time she focused on Beastboy. She pictured his face. His smile. His goofy quirks. She desperately wanted to be wrapped in his arms after what she just experienced.

She let out a deep exhale and sat up up straight in her pose.

_Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos._

_Beastboy... please be careful. _She thought to herself.

Not long after she continued meditating, her concentration was interrupted again but this time it was the loud bang of something in the walls. She looked up at the top of the massive door with an overkill of locking mechanisms on the other side, to see a ventilation duct had been closed off immediately followed by the loud sound of some metallic scrapping through the wall as if it were shot from the duct.

A crash in the room on the other side of the massive door made her rise to her feet. She began to worry. Thoughts of Beastboy's attempted rescue failing made her anxious with fear.

She waited in silence and held her breath as she listened for any signs of him.

She started moving towards the door when the chains flexed and cuffs pulled on her wrists stopping her a few feet away from it. She looked back at the chains in frustration then back at the door and continued listening.

A loud trumpet from what she imagined was an elephant roared through the door and all her suspicions were confirmed. Beastboy was there on the other side of this two foot thick piece of iron. She reached out to the door as if trying to extend her hand to him but she staggered back as a cushing thud impacted the door nearly making her jump out of her shoes.

She didn't see this as a good sign. He was fighting someone. Her mind began racing as her heart beat faster and faster.

_W__hat if he loses? What if I can't save him?_

Fear coursed up her spine making her blood run cold. But a sliver of hope remained as she continued to listen to the ensuing battle outside the door.

But her greatest fears were confirmed when a loud screech from what could only be Beastboy's velociraptor became muffled and disappeared followed by Slades voice from the vents...

_"You never learn do you?"_

In the city the three Titans held the center of the city where they intended to bear down and hold off the hoard as long as they could. By the way things were going it looked like this could very well be the end.

"According to my sensors this is the center of the city!" Cyborg announced, "unless we missed some they should all be within a half mile of us!"

"I believe we have gotten all of them!" Starfire shouted from above. She looked down on their grave situation. Robin and Cyborg were back to back as hundreds of omnidroids circled them closing in slowly as if preparing a coordinated attack. The buildings around them had creatures standing on top of them looking down at their prey. A few the bulidings were ablaze but not out of control as if the fire had recently just gained some strength.

Starfire flew down and landed at her teammates sides shifting the other two so all three of them were backed agaisnt each other.

Robin held his staff with his jaw clenched and look of fierce determination on his face but even he couldn't think of a way out of this one.

"Any ideas?!" Robin shouted to his friends.

"What?! You don't have a plan?!" Cyborg screamed in fear. He lifted his sonic cannon towards the hoard, closing in like zombies.

"I'm open to suggestions!" Robin yelled back. An iron creature lunged at him as he finished and Robin ducked under its strike posting up on his staff and extended his legs with a loud war cry, landing two heel kicks to its chest sending it soaring through the air back into the others.

"We'll just have to hold them off until Beastboy comes back with Raven!" Robin concluded.

The creatures all started rushing towards them in a fury. Cyborg and Starfire began blasting left and right trying to stagger them back as much as they could while Robin let loose as many explosives as he could.

Cyborg then looked down at his arm and an idea popped into his head.

"These things are all robots!" He said looking over his shoulder at Robin.

"What's your point?!" Robin said angrily as he didn't want to be distracted from his current battle with a brick omnidroid.

"I have a 50,000 watt power cell strong enough to power a skyscraper! If I boost the amplitude of my sonic cannon and trigger a blown fuse, the EMP could wipe out anything electronic in a 2 mile radius!" He shouted as he looked back at his advancing targets.

"But you are also mechanical!" Starfire argued. She let out a barrage of starbolts at a wooden omnidroid dismembering its limbs and leaving it in a pile... only to see it turn into the asphalt of the street and generate brand new limbs, "you would also be, the wiped out!" She finished, sharing her concern.

"Starfire's right!" Robin agreed as he continued exchanging blows with the brick creature sending it back to its friends, "it's too risky! We'll have to find another way!"

Cyborg looked over his shoulder at his friends. Time slowed in his eyes as he watched his friends fighting tooth and nail to survive. When he looked back at his cannon he knew there was only one thing they could do... Or rather... One thing _he _could do to save them.

The cold floor of the abandoned broadcasting station was extremely uncomfortable to Beastboy. He couldn't tell if it was because he just had 100,000 volts sent though his body once again or if he was just getting tired of finding himself laying on the ground helplessly at the feet of his enemies. Slade most of all.

"I was expecting some kind of rescue attempt," Slade started, "but I wasn't expecting a solo rescue. Let alone a rescue so well thought out as to use the vents," Slade sounded like he was bluffing, "that is... Until I came to the realization of this blossoming romance between you and Raven." He turned to face his victim laying in front of him, "I had to make a few changes to accommodate your skills. Lucky for me... I had an expert on you." His voice showed signs of smirking underneath his mask as he looked at his accomplice next to him.

Rouge had a sickening grin on her face as if she were about take some kind of twisted pleasure in ending Beastboy's life. Yet Slade was holding her back. He wanted to make this last. With the other Titans facing his army and Terra no where in sight he could enjoy this and take his time doing it.

"Let... Raven... Go..." Beastboy said inbetween breaths. He was exhausted like his body had just run a marathon.

"On the contrary," Slade shot back, "Raven will be staying with me." He began walking to the dark corner of the room where he picked up a small metal case like a box and placed it in front of Beastboy. He leaned over Beastboy and wshipered with a sinster slur in his voice, "I have plans for her..."

With the push of a button on the case it sprang up from the ground and revealed a very familiar sight that shot chills up Beastboy's spine. Hanging in front of him was the very suit of armor that Terra had once worn before when she was under his control. Only this time it had a slim metallic helmet and shaded red lenses covering the eyes.

"My bad luck with apprentices will finally end. This suit will control her completely. Her body. Her mind. Her soul... Will all be mine." Slade squint his eye at Beastboy emphasizing his seriousness, "I will have the most powerful being in existence at my fingertips. And together... we will be unstoppable."

"Raven... Will never... Be controlled by someone like you," Beastboy wheezed, "she's stronger than you think!"

"Is she?" Slade challenged, "why don't we put that to the test?"

Slade picked the helmet off the stand and walked towards the immense metal door. He placed his hand on the wall beside it and a scanner flared with beeps and scans and after a few seconds the annoying amount of locks began clicking and unlocking allowing the door to swing freely revealing Raven, with the collar around her neck still glowing with white letters, standing a few feet from the door. Tears instantly appeared in her eyes as she looked past the villains at Beastboy on the floor.

"Hello my dear," Slade said with a dark scowl.

"Don't you touch her!" Beastboy screamed. His adrenaline began to pulse as he struggled to get to his knees with a loud groan.

"I'm the least of your worries," Slade mocked, "soon _she _will be the one you should worry about." He gestured to Raven.

Rouge moved past him into the dim room gripping Raven's wrists and holding them behind her back.

Raven let out a small moan of pain as the discomfort from Rouge became apparent to her.

"I SAID DON'T TOUCH HER!" Beastboy's anger began to boil over as he finally got to his knees.

Raven's thoughts began to cloud her judgement. How could she get out of this? Her father offered her help but he promised to slaughter everyone she loved. But if she didn't risk it she could be enslaved to someone just as bad if not worse.

_Father... _Raven said in her mind as Slade inched closer and closer holding the red eyed helmet.

_"Give me control, child," _Trigon Respond.

_I... I..._

Slade lifted the Helmet over Raven's head.

_I..._

Before Raven could finish an ear splitting roar cried out across the room stopping everyone where they stood to look back at the origin of the horrifying sound.

Beastboy's eyes went completely black as if a demon possessed him. His teeth grew sharp as daggers and his body began to increase in size triggering the collar to send 100,000 volts through his nervous system.

His claws grew long and pointed as the size of his hands rivaled that of a gorilla's. He screeched in pain as his transformation continued with the blue sparks of electricity coursing into his body.

The whole room watched in awe as this... thing... This beast... continued to fight the power of the collar. The power of electricity so strong, no living thing on earth should be able to withstand it.

Beastboy slowly reached up to the collar using every last bit of strength he had just to grip it with his newly formed massive claws. And with loud, painful roar his arms extended in opposite directions snapping the collar off him like twig.

Beastboy had only ever taken this form when absolutely necessary. His most powerful and versatile form he had. He became the beast within himself. The Werebeast.

He fell to his knees breathing heavily and his rage consumed him as he wrapped his head around his task at hand.

Save her. No matter what it takes. Save her.

He lift his head to the sky, spreading his elbows apart behind him, and let out a fierce howl that sent a chill down Slade's spine.

"How did - _UGAAHH"_ Before he could finish Beastboy had jumped and pushed off the wall behind him like a spring board, propelling him like a missile straight at Slade.

While in mid air he spun his feet around landing a heavy drop-kick with both feet. The impact sent Slade shooting across the room with such speed and force he hit the wall on the other side, denting the concrete. He stuck to the wall for a moment before falling face first the floor along with bits and pieces of rubble from the wall. He had let go of the helmet when Beastboy hit him and it gently drifted through the air landing next to him softly.

Beastboy now stood where Slade was and his gaze instantly turned to Madam Rouge who eyes went wide with fear. She's never seen Beastboy take this form. She had no idea how to fight something so fast and so strong. She immediately released Raven and turned her attention to the Werebeast in front of her.

Rouge let out a loud grunt as she swung a quick fist through the air but in the blink of an eye, Beastboy dodged her attack and got close into her personal space putting himself in between her and Raven. He moved so fast she couldn't even react to the three strikes he landed one after another.

The first was an uppercut from his right claw, followed by a left hook and finished with a round house kick from his right leg which he landed in her ribcage. Such a kick lifted Rouge off her feet sending her through the doorway back into the other room where she bounced off the floor and into the wall that Beastboy had crashed into earlier.

Rouge groaned with pain as she lifted her head. In front of her face was the collar Beastboy had ripped off a moment ago. As she began to reach for it she found herself wailing in pain as Beastboy had dashed across the room stepping on her forearm with a crunch.

Like Rouge... Slade had also come-to. He looked up to see Rouge wailing in pain in the other room and to his right he saw the helmet he had been holding a moment ago. He realized he had one chance to win this fight and reached out to the helmet.

Beastboy reached down with his left hand, grabbed the back of Rouge's latex shirt and lifted her into the air like she was nothing but a toy doll. He immediately sent a right hook across her jaw sending her across the room into another wall.

Rouge fell from the wall and hit the floor with a loud thud then remained still as she moaned in pain.

Beastboy let out a loud and triumphant howl as he raised his head to the sky once more.

"This isn't it over yet!" Slade said confidently.

"Beastboy!" Raven shouted as if pleading for help. Raven was struggling to get out of a head lock Slade had her in.

Beastboy turned and his eyes went wide. He made eye contact with Raven just as Slade slid the helmet over her head. The red lenses covered her eyes breaking her eye contact with Beastboy.

The earth stood still in that moment. After a second the red lenses lit up and began to glow and Raven stopped struggling agaisnt Slade.

"Now heed my every command," Slade said pulling a remote from his pocket. He pressed a single button. The collar and chains around Raven's neck and wrists unlocked and fell to the floor. The glowing letters faded and dark flames raged around Raven as her powers returned...

Slade stood behind Raven as he had once done with Terra. He fold his hands behind his back and tilted his head towards Beastboy with the most evil sounding tone anyone had ever heard from him...

"Destroy him."


	53. Abandon All Hope

**A/N: To all my readers, welcome back! I hope you have enjoyed the story thus far. It truly has been a crazy ride. Again, I hope I'm doing the show justice. If not please let me know so I can fix that! Your reviews are what keep this story going and true to it's merit. With that said please drop a fav or follow of you like what you are reading and let me know how I can improve. Thanks again for reading! I hope you enjoy!**

The green werebeast stood frozen in place. His mind had gone blank with absolutely no idea of what to do. Someone who made him feel loved, someone he felt _he _could love, was just told to end him and she had no choice but to obey.

"Destroy him, Raven," Slade repeat himself with a sinister tone.

Without hesitation Raven lifted her hand with dark energy surrounding it and lift a table across the room from Beastboy and sent it hurrling towards his side. Beastboy turned to engage it and the sheer force of Ravens power stuck him lifting him off his feet across the room.

In his werebeast form he was still strong and agile. He caught the table on impact and landed on his feet across the room sliding to a stop straining against the force of Raven's dark energy with a growl. He shifted his body weight and threw his weight to the side releasing the table out of his way watching it slam into the wall behind him shattering it to pieces. When he turned to face Raven he was taken by surprise...

Raven lifted both her hands towards Beastboy and a stream of powerful darkness shot from her hands slamming against him pinning him against the wall adjacent to the one the table had shattered on. He let out a loud howl of pain as the dark energy faded forcing him to fall to the floor with a thud.

He groaned as he struggled to get up. Through blurred vision he watched as Raven slowly walked towards him. She stood over him looking down with the glowing red lenses covering her eyes. It was like looking at Raven when her inner demon took control.

_Stop__!_

Raven begged herself as she raised another hand towards her loved one. A dark orb surrounded her hand as she closed it to a fist. surrounding the green creature in dark energy.

_No! Stop this!_

Raven was fighting back as much as possible but her mind was recieving commands from the slim metallic helmet she wore bearing the symbol "S" on the forehead. These commands bypassed her control and went straight to her limbs.

Her hand shot into the air and Beastboy went flying through the ceiling and out the roof with a crash on each surface he smashed through. He went flying through the air and landed hard on his side bouncing and tumbling to a stop in the dirt outside.

"Good Raven," Slade said pleased, "now finish him."

This may have been the most evil thing he had ever done. He had gone beyond the evil of Trigon. Forcing two people that love each other to kill one another. The cruelty was beyond horrific, yet disturbingly familiar.

Beastboy morphed back into his normal body and moaned with pain as he rubbed his the back of his head. His gaze swiveled in a hurry when he heard what sounded like an explosion come from the building he had just been literally thrown out of.

Raven was surrounded by an orb of darkness and she exploded through the roof she had just tossed Beastboy through. Bits of debris and chucks of the building went shooting in all directions around her. With intense speed she flew straight to where he was straining to get to his feet.

The red eyes locked on Beastboy and he stood and started to back away slowly trying to come up with a plan. Before he knew it she was on top of him.

Some of the destroyed building was caught in her dark orb and Raven raised both her hands over her head. The dark orb surrounding her vanished only engulfing the debris now looming above her and as she touched down to the ground she sent her hands furiously downwards at Beastboy.

The bricks, metal, and chunks of the building came crashing down at him with the power of a missile behind them but only stuck the earth leaving a sizable crater as Beastboy dodged to his right with a terrified yelp.

He performed a barrel roll and popped right back up to his feet and began pleading with Raven to snap out of it.

"Raven! It's me!" He shouted, "I'm here to help you! Don't you remember?!"

Raven's gaze slowly turned to him and the red eyes of the helmet locked on him once again.

"That won't work this time, boy," Slade sneered as he walked up behind Raven, "I've learned my lesson. The only thing that kept all my other apprentices from obeying me, was their free will. I simply removed that from the equation."

"No! Raven's stronger than that! She's stronger than anything you could ever throw at her!" Beastboy argued, "I know she can still hear me!"

"Of course she can," Slade gloated, "she's still very much Raven. She can still hear, see and remember everything. However, she has no control over her actions... _I _do."

Raven stretched out her hands in front of her, slowly raising them in the air, and the ground began to shake. A loud crack thundered through the vast emptiness around them and a massive patch of earth rose from the ground 10 times the size of Beastboy.

Beastboy let out a small squeak of panic as he watched this new found boulder rise into the air. Raven let out a loud groan as she motioned her hands towards him as if throwing the 2 ton rock at him.

Beastboy began running for his life trying to get out of range of the immense projectile and just barely managed to scrape by as the rock hit the ground causing a small tremor under him. He leapt out of the way once again rolling to a stop. A huge cloud of dust had been kicked up from the impact, concealing his presence. Beastboy saw his chance. His anger raged on once more and he leapt out of the dust cloud high in the air, morphing back into the werebeast, headed straight for Slade.

Slade jumped back just in time to evade Beastboy's attack as the giant green fists smashed against the dirt leaving a small dent in the desert. He was just about to spring forward to send a second attack at Slade only to feel a blunt pain fill his rib cage as Raven came flying in with a swift heel kick knocking the wind out of him as he was sent sliding across the desert.

Raven walked towards him standing over him like a beast about to devour its prey.

_STOP! PLEASE STOP!_

She pleaded with herself. But her silent commands were just tiny cries in a empty vacuum of space. She raised a hand with dark energy and another rock rose from the ground but this was was much smaller and took shape. It looked like a perfectly carved spike pointed down at the green changeling.

"Now this looks familiar doesn't it?" Slade said watching from a small distance, "but I believe we will be getting a much different result this time around..."

Beastboy changed back to his human form and tried to talk to Raven one last time.

"Raven... Please... Don't do this. I know you're still in there," His eyes began to water as the words slipped across his lips.

From under the red lenses of Slades helmet tears could be seen rolling down Raven's cheeks. She really could see hear and feel everything that was happening around her.

_Beastboy... I can't_ _stop it... _Raven Sounded as if she had lost all hope.

_"Give me control child," _Tirgon's voice echoed through her mind, _"and I will spare his life. I will free you from this nightmare."_

_You only want to make another nightmare for me... _Raven said with defeat in her voice.

_"If you wish to end his life yourself then so be it. But my offer still stands..." _He sounded convincing like he would honor his word. But Raven didn't believe him. But at this point she had no choice...

_Fine... Father... Please... Just save him._

"End him Raven!" Slade shouted.

The air fell still with anticipation. The cold grip of fear, death, and destruction wrapped around everyone as they waited for Raven's next action. But to everyone's surprise... she lowered her hand. However the air grew colder around them.

_"No." _There was no doubt Raven had spoken... But it sounded nothing like her voice.

The helmet on her head detonated like a bomb and shattered off of her. Her velvet hair kicked up from the force and gently float down to its resting position with grace as she held her eyes shut. The pointed rock lost its essence of dark energy and crumbled as it hit the ground in front of Beastboy. The helmet may have been destroyed but when Raven opened her eyes.. the red glow remained constant.

When she turned to look at Slade, fear began pulsing through him as he saw a second pair of red eyes appear above her own staring straight into his soul.

"Impossible..." Slade said softly as he trembled.

Raven let out a terrifying war cry like her voice was possessed by an evil entity. In the blink of an eye she was face to face with Slade.

_"What? You didn't think you saw the last of me did you?" _Her freakish voice echoed with a low, dark tone.

She lifted a hand and dark energy surrounded Slade swallowing him like a tidal wave. Slade was then lifted into the air and slammed back down to the ground as if suplexed by an unseen force. He was slammed again and again each one leaving a slightly bigger crater than the last until she finally threw him through the wall of the abandoned building in a cloud dust and debris.

The building was barely standing at this point and it half collapsed on top of Slade as he went through the wall.

"R... Raven?" Beastboy said nearly petrified.

Without a word Raven spun around and waved a hand, sending a nearby rock the size of Beastboy's head across his jaw dropping him to his knees.

_"The Raven you knew is gone. Rage has consumed her and you will now face my wrath!" _The evil voice declared.

In the city the battle continued as Robin, Cyborg and Starfire did their best to hold off an army of unthinkable enemies. Omnidroids of all types of elements surrounded them closing in with each passing minute.

Robin found himself face to face with one creature made of burning embers from a building that collapsed earlier in the night. From his belt he pulled a circular disc and hurled it at the creature with loud yell. On impact the disc explode with liquid nitrogen freezing the creature completely like a solid statue. Robins eyes went wide and he lunged at his icy target swinging his staff like a baseball bat.

The statue shattered into a thousand pieces leaving nothing but the mechanical face intact connected to a head of ice. A wave of relief washed over him as he thought they finally might have a chance to fight back. But his feeling of relief vanished as the ice immediately melted and the water rejoined and slowly began to take form as the creature then stood back to its feet ready to continue fighting as a body of water.

As it lunged at Robin, who was completely unprepared to combat an enemy made of liquid, its body vaporized and the head went sailing across the street hitting a car nearby.

Robin turned his head to see Cyborg with his sonic cannon rasied where the creature was standing just a moment ago.

"It's no use!" Cyborg yelled coming to terms with reality, "no matter what we do these things just keep getting back up and comin' at us!"

They both looked over at the car where the last creature had just landed and sure enough, it had taken shape once again as the metal of the car it landed against.

"Friends!" Starfire yelled from across the street, "I need assistance!" She pleaded.

Starfire was faced with four omnidroids. One was made of steel. Another, brick. That other two were comprised of asphalt from the street. They had her surrounded and she was shooting starbolts in every direction at them. Swinging wildly with all her alien strength at any that got too close. Until a fifth creature made of iron surprised her from behind gripping her with a bear hug. Starfire let out a chilling scream.

"STARFIRE!" Robin yelled as he began running towards her. But his advance was halted as more omnidroids made of plexiglas, stone, and the original pale white form got in his way. They were prepared to fight to keep their prize.

Robin yelled with fury as he began swinging his staff at them. He continued using his martial arts skills and used his staff to post up and sent swift kicks to the faces of his targets. But his enemies were being to recognize his repetitive attacks. His kicks struck air, only to have his legs caught by one of the pale white creatures who then wrapped its arms around him pinning him to its chest. Robin grunted and groaned as he continued to struggle and fight against their grip.

"Robin!" Cyborg yelled raising his cannon but just before he could fire the omnidroid that he had blasted to the nearby car struck him from behind sending him face first to the ground. He raised himself to his knees and looked up at his helpless friends entrapped by the hoard of monsters they faced.

Looking around, he saw the endless army of these unbeatable things that kept closing in closer and closer. All hope had been lost. The fight was over. They had been beaten.

"I'm sorry y'all," Cyborg said under his breath.

He pressed the center of his chest revealing his power cell glowing bright with an ominous blue power. As he stood to his feet he raised his arm and rerouted all power from his sonic cannon and all other devices in his mechanical body to his power cell. His arm instantly started flashing with bold red letters that read _CRITICAL_ as a high pitched tone started beeping steadily picking up pace and increasing in speed.

"There's no other way," he said softly.


	54. Even At Your Worst

**A/N: Hey! Sorry this one took so long! I couldn't remember my mental notes on where I wanted to take this chapter but it FINALLY came back to me and here it is! Turns out its a lot longer than I initially thought. But I really love how this chapter turned out. Keep in mind I'm gonna go back and edit it soon. But for now I feel I owe you guys some content so here it is (before editing). As always... if you like what you're reading drop a fav or follow as well as leave me a review and let me know how I can improve! Thanks again for reading! Hope you guys enjoy!**

The world was a blur. Beastboy lay on his hands and knees with his mind dazed and disoriented. His pointed ears held a high pitched ring as if someone had bashed a gong in his head. This made him nauseous and the taste of blood in his mouth didn't help. He struggled to look around to see if he could focus on Raven but the world was spinning as his gaze darted back and forth.

Just as everything started to finally settle in place, he could see Raven standing over him.

"I suppose I should thank you," she mocked. Her voice was low and dark as if a demonic beast were speaking for her, "if it weren't for our feelings for you, she may have never allowed me to take control."

"Our?" Beastboy asked softly not quite understanding what was going on, "what do you mean _our_? Raven... what's going on?" Beastboy said as the ringing and nausea started to fade.

Raven cracked a menacing grin and took joy in toying with Beastboy.

"You're so cute when your clueless," she laughed before explaining, "isn't it obvious? She was too weak to do anything so I asked my father for help."

Beastboy's eyes went wide when he realized who he was talking to, "Trigon?" He said softly fearing his name. Images of their battle in a world reduced to burning embers flashed through his mind, "no... No! Raven destroyed you!"

"I _am _Raven!" she respond instantly with anger behind her voice, "I'm the most powerful side of Raven! That weak excuse of a demonic daughter gave me control and in exchange I vowed to spare you... For now." She finished with a sinister smirk.

Her red eyes glowed brighter as she lifted her hands towards him. Dark energy came pouring from her hands striking him in the chest lifting him from the ground and sending him spiraling through the air before landing with a thud in a cloud of desert dust.

She hovered over to where he land and ginned with glee as she watched Beastboy struggle and groan as he again rose to his feet.

"You... You're not Raven. Raven is kind. Raven is good," Beastboy said clutching his stomach with his right hand, "you... you're just..."

"Evil?" Raven finished for him with a dark smile, "yeah... She wants to believe she is good but the truth is she was born of darkness. She never wanted to be a part of his armageddon... But _I _did." She turned her back to Beastboy to face the city glowing red in the far off distance. She took a few steps towards it as if trying to admire it, "I wanted to watch the world burn. I wanted to help my father in his never ending conquest of eternal domination!" She paused and her dark smile slowly disappeared from her face, "but you..." She turned slowly towards him, "_You _and the others she grew so close to gave her hope and happiness none of us ever imagined... and you ruined _everything._" She made eye contact with him and her blood red eyes pierced Beastboy like a dagger.

"So you're not Trigon, you're just the evil that he gave her," Beastboy said standing up straight trying to show no fear. But he knew she could tell he was trembling beneath the surface.

"Impressive! You're not as stupid as I thought!" Raven laughed, "I guess you could say _I'm _the daughter my father always wanted."

"Raven destroyed Trigon," Beastboy continued, "there's no way he could have taken over her. She's stronger than him!"

"Of course I'm stronger than my pathetic father!" Raven hissed as her voice flared with anger, "but you can't destroy evil just as you can't destroy good. One can not exist without the other. The same applies to us... She and I are the same. We are one. She could never kill me because I am just as much a part of her as her own beating heart. Our power is strongest when I am in control. When _rage_ is in control," her anger faded and she smiled at Beastboy with a lustful expression, "speaking of rage... I've never seen anyone with anger like yours," she licked her lips and stepped closer to him. She got so close that their faces were nearly touching, "you're _also_ at your strongest when you let the beast out of its cage. I mean... even Robin doesn't have the guts to mow down a group of kids to get what he wants. I love that kind of fire in man..." Raven bit her lower lip playfully.

She was intentionally trying to make Beastboy uncomfortable but there was still a hint of truth behind her evil words. It seemed even in this state, Raven's feelings for him still seemed to be strong and find their way to the surface. In the back of her mind this worried her but she paid no attention to it thinking she could easily get over it. "With that kind of beast at my side we could make worlds across the galaxy bend to our will," Raven sounded as if she were flirting with him, "together... we'd be unstoppable." She finished with a seductive smile like a siren tempting a sailor to abandon ship to satisfy the deepest and darkest of urges.

Beads of sweat began to roll down the back of Beastboy's neck. His mind flashed back to the incident at the school. One of the worst decisions he's ever made. But he didn't do it out of anger he did it out of love for Terra who was in extreme danger. He regret it... but at the same time, he was glad he saved her and he we do it again if it came down to it.

But Raven's offer was tempting to him... and that frightened him. When he thought about it he realized it was more the idea of being with Raven forever that enticed him. But if he was going to be with her he wanted to be with the _real_ Raven. The one he fell for without even realizing it.

Beastboy took a step back to gain some space between them. He took a deep breath and then spoke softly as if caring for a delicate child, "you know that wasn't me, Raven..." He reached towards her and grabbed by the shoulders staring deep into her eyes, "and you know this isn't _you_ either."

Raven's face softened as if something inside her was responding to his words. But her red eyes glared at him shortly after and she bat away his arms breaking his grip.

"I knew you were weak. Just like her," Raven said as she began levitating off the ground above him. Her power began to surge as a whirlwind started to spiral around her, "you'd rather be with some pitiful outcast wouldn't you?" Her voice grew darker and her power continued to grow, "you'd rather have a traitorous nobody with no _real_ power wouldn't you?!"

Beastboy lift his arms over his face to block any dirt and dust swept up by the force of Raven's whirlwind that was quickly becoming a hurricane, "what are you talking about?!" He asked honestly not knowing what she was getting at.

Raven only grew more angry at his words, "DON'T EVEN START!" She screamed, "I saw Terra's memories with you. You love her don't you?!"

It dawned on Beastboy that Raven was the one who got Terra's memories back. That Raven was the reason she could use her powers once again... and why Terra was so adamant about helping save Raven.

"I'll always love Terra, Raven!" Beastboy said honestly, shouting over Raven's power but this made her fury grow steadily worse as the spiraling wind raged on, picking up speed, "but she has a new life! A good life! A life I can't be a part of!" Beastboy paused trying to let his words sink in before continuing, "if you love someone, you want what's best for them right?! You want them to be happy don't you?!"

Raven's face softened once more as she closed her eyes. She grit her teeth in her anger and raised her hands to her head as if some kind of battle was beginning to unfold within her.

"Stop... Fighting me..." Raven spoke as if addressing no one. It seemed like she was talking someone no one else could see, "we had a deal! I'M IN CONTROL NOW!"

Her eyes jolted open and she threw her fists to her sides with bent elbows. Dark flames explode around her, surrounding her aura in dark energy.

The sonic wave from the explosion knocked Beastboy back to the ground where he stared up at her in fear. Raven raised her hands above her head and a massive boulder lifted from the ground behind her and took its place, levitating above her raised hands.

Beastboy's fear turned to horror but what he saw on Raven's face surprised him to the point it almost made his fear vanish completely. Raven had tears flowing down her cheeks. She was crying. He could tell Raven, _his_ Raven, was fighting back and trying to break free from her dark side's grip.

Raven hesitated for a moment before throwing her hands towards the helpless shapeshifter sitting in front of her letting out the most agonizing yell anyone has ever heard from her. She sounded like she was furious but at the same time she sounded like she didn't want to go through with her actions.

Beastboy gasped as he watched the massive boulder barreling towards him. It was too large to break and too close to dodge. All he could do was stare at it while it crushed him into nothing.

He closed his eyes and prepared for the end when a thundering crash in front of him forced his eyes open to witness an enormous rock wall springing out of the ground taking on the immense boulder and shattering them both into rubble.

Beastboy's head spun around to see Terra with a yellow aura around her. Her hair was floating as if defying gravity and her eyes glowed bright yellow along with her one good hand that was raised towards him.

Terra's face was fierce with a sense of rage and determination. She let out low groans as she struggled to continue using the complete extent of her power.

"Of course you would get in the way!" Raven screamed as the tears continued, "YOU'RE _ALWAYS _GETTING IN THE WAY!"

"Raven!" She said as she struggled, "please don't do this! You're my only friend who makes me feel like I'm not alone! Like someone else understands me! I would do _anything_ to keep our friendship!"

Raven remembered Terra's past. How they both had such a terrible beginning. How they had so much in common. She finally had someone she could really relate to... In a way.

She placed her hands on her temples as if trying to erase the thoughts from her mind before lashing out with anger once more.

"What makes you so special?!" Raven spat looking down on Terra, "why does he care so much about you but _NO ONE_ cares about me?!"

Raven lofted her head to the sky and let out a cry of pain as if something was eating her from the inside. It seemed the only way she could quarrel this strange pain was to increase her anger more and more. She screamed even louder as if expressing her hatred for the whole world and her power surged well beyond its limits. Debris and rocks of all shapes and sizes were now being swept up in the hurricane, now spiraling out of control around her. Her eyes shut tightly and she tucked her legs into her body as if levitating in the fetal position gripping her head like it was on fire.

As the bigger pieces of debris were being picked up and thrown into orbit around Raven, the weight of the rubble Slade was buried under lessened. Rouge had finally come-to and helped get the rest of the large pieces off of him.

"It _vwould_ appear your ring is no longer _vworking_," Rouge said in an aggravated tone.

Slade groaned as he sat up. He looked down at his ring. It had cracks all over it and before he could react it crumbled and completely fell off his finger.

"It was meant for _Raven's_ power," he said trying to make sense of it, "this... this isn't _her_ power. This is something on an entirely different level."

They both looked up at the insane amount of power she was exerting and knew this was somewhere they really didn't want to be.

"It would be in out best interest to get as far away from her as possible," Slade said admitting defeat.

"Then this is _vwhere _we part ways," Rouge said having had enough, "I grow tried of _vworking _for someone else."

"I was never someone who works well with others anyways," Slade respond half jokingly.

As villains they both had a mutual respect for each others work but they knew this "partnership" was never going to last. With that they both took off in the same direction away from Raven before splitting up and heading off to make separate plans of their own.

Things were starting to get out of hand. The small building that once imprisoned Raven was being picked apart piece by piece and tossed around like a child playing with their toys. Her power was out of control and beyond anything anyone had ever seen from her.

"Beastboy run!" Terra shouted. She could see things were getting worse and worse. It seemed like they were all about lose their lives to Raven's power.

"No!" Beastboy instantly respond, "I'm not giving up on her!"

"Don't be stupid! If you stay you'll die!" Terra pleaded with him.

"NO! I WON'T MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE TWICE!" He screamed at Terra.

Terra saw the fire in Beastboy's eyes. He was talking about her. When he let her sacrifice herself to save them.

He wasn't leaving here without Raven. He was going to save her or die trying. Terra sighed and looked up at Raven who was still clutching her temples as she levitate off the ground with a vortex of incredible power surrounding her.

"Fine!" Terra finally agreed, "what do we do?!"

"Just get me close to her!" Beastboy shouted back.

Terra raised a hand and her aura began to glow yellow displaying all her power once more. The earth beneath Beastboy began to crack in a circle around him and rise from the ground.

"Just so you know this might be your only chance to tell her!" Terra teased trying to lighten the tension.

"Tell her what?!" Beastboy yelled back.

"Seriously?!?!?!" Terra was to the point of screaming at Beastboy's idiocy, "have you been listening to anything she just said?! She needs you! Now more than ever! And you're the _ONLY _one who can help her!"

With a long and loud groan from Terra, the rock Beastboy was standing on lifted out of the ground and started moving towards Raven.

Inch by inch he slowly got closer to Raven but Terra was struggling to control the platform Beastboy was on through Raven's sheer power. She continuously let out long groans as she strained to complete her task. Beads of sweat began to roll down her cheeks as she clenched her jaw and her body grew tired and weak.

Beastboy was covering his face with his right arm to protect himself from flying debris. He had no idea what he was going to do but he had to try something. He just hoped something would could to mind when the moment came.

He was nearly half way there when a giant piece of rubble from the destroyed building headed straight for him and smashed the rock Terra was controlling.

Terra let out a yell of relief as her control over the rock Beastboy was on was broken. She dropped to her knees and looked up in fear for Beastboy's life and watched with nervous anticipation. All she could do now was hope.

Beastboy leapt off the rock before getting crushed and morphed into a bald eagle. He began flapping his wings wildly trying to fight the force of the hurricane.

He was diving left, right, up, down, and all directions in between, avoiding every piece of debris like the most agile and athletic bird the world has ever seen. As he inched closer and closer he finally got close enough to morph back to his human form and grab on to the shoulder of Raven's cloak from behind with one hand. His body was still feeling the force of the hurricane and legs flailed behind him like a flag waving on a windy day as he held on for dear life.

Raven didn't even seem to notice he was there. Her red eyes remained shut with hands still covering her temples. The battle inside her mind was turing into a war.

"Raven!" Beastboy yelled trying to get her attention but with no response. He stretched out with other hand and gripped her cloak's other shoulder and spun her around so she was facing him keeping a constant grip at all times, "RAVEN!"

Raven's eyes slowly opened to reveal soft, sad glowing red eyes with tears consistantly streaming down her cheeks.

It was as if the world went silent around them. As if time stood still amongst the chaos and destruction surrounding them. Her eyes told the entire story and Beastboy could read them as if they he had been reading the same story for years.

_She needs you. Now more than ever._

Beastboy thought about what Terra said to him just before he went on this suicide mission. He started to think about what Raven had been saying earlier.

_Why does NO ONE care about me?_

"Why are you here, Beastboy?" Raven asked slowly lowering her hands from her temples while she remained in a slight fetal position. Her voice had returned to its normal tone but it sounded damaged like she was torn inside.

This one question took Beastboy by surprise. He thought it was obvious... But then he started thinking about everything Raven has been doing for him. It became obvious _to him_. Everything clicked and started making sense. It made sense now why everyone was calling him an idiot. And now he knew they were right. In that moment he even called himself an idiot.

"Why?" Raven asked again begging for an answer.

_This might be you're only chance to tell her._

"You... asked why no one cares about you right?" Beastboy said softly. Raven closed her eyes and lowered her head away from his, "well I'm _here _to tell you that's not true."

Raven opened her eyes and paused for a moment before she looked back up at him and waited for him to continue.

"I mean... Robin, Cyborg, Starfire... even Terra! We all care about you!" Beastboy said trying his best to get his message across.

Raven lowered her head once more, "that's not what I meant..." She said in a grim tone.

The hurricane around them grew a little more in size as the devastation caused by rage was now joined by depression. This made Beastboy panic even more.

Looking in from the outside, Terra watched as the hurricane not only continued but grew worse. She started worry as she realized keeping her feet on the ground was getting more and more difficult as the strength Raven's power would soon sweep her up as well.

_You're the ONLY one that can help her._

Beastboy swallowed his pride. He didn't know what was going to happen but he knew it was now or never.

"Well," he started again, "I... uh..." Raven looked back up at him through her red eyes with tears that seem to have no end, "I..." Beastboy stared into her eyes. He could see all the pain she was holding on to and it sparked something inside him, "I..." It didn't take long before that spark turned into a raging fire, "I...!"

Beastboy let go with his right hand and wrapped his fingers around the back of her neck pulling her up towards his flailing body and pressed his lips firmly and passionately against hers, refusing to let go or let the moment fade too quickly.

Raven was taken by complete surprise. Her dark red eye's opened wide for a moment before she gently shut them and surrender herself to the moment she was having with the only person she could imagine having this moment with. It seemed like a dream. Like it was too good to be true. Like at any moment she would wake up from it and find herself staring at the odd artifacts and objects she has collected in her room. But she didn't care. This feeling was a first for her. Whether it was a dream or not, it felt incredible. Something indescribable.

As if stopping on command the hurricane froze in place along with all the debris and rubble, acting like a circular curtain around them. Beastboy's body slowly float down from flailing in the wind and aligned itself with Raven's body. While they hung in the air at the center of her frozen vortex, he released his left hand from her other shoulder and wrapped it around the small of her back pulling her in tight his body to show her he meant what he was doing and there could be no doubt that this _was_ real and genuine.

Raven knew now she wasn't dreaming. This was real. This was happening. She couldn't help but let the emotions she was feeling overwhelm her like she did on the roof of the Tower with Starfire. She felt a surge of power unlike anything she had ever felt before. It was so strong that it forced her to pull her lips away from Beastboy's and open her eyes towards the stars where she let out loud groan like something was about to explode out of her with intense force.

Beastboy wrapped both his hands around Raven's waist and held on tight to her, bracing for the worst. He didn't know what to expect. Her powers were always so unpredictable in moments like this. As her power began to manifest itself Beastboy was forced to lean back away from Raven. As he did he closed his eyes and braced for impact.

A massive white light, that could blind the sun itself, shot from her aura like a cannon into the night sky with the shape of bird's beak leading the charge. Her red eyes looked as if they were fighting against the bright white power that was slowly over taking them and before long her red eyes were swallowed by a purified white light. After a moment, the white light pulsing into the night sky took shape and the wings of a raven spread across stars as the bird let out a long, powerful, and triumphant screech that could be heard from miles away.

When its cry finally trailed off, the pure white bird pulled its wings into its body and performed a perfect nosedive straight down back to its origin where Raven was floating with Beastboy. When it re-merged with Raven it caused a powerful explosion of white energy like a nova, shattering the frozen curtain of the hurricane and sending the suspended debris in every direction, making it seem like it was raining dirt, rocks, and rubble.

When everything finally fade away Raven collapsed into Beastboy's chest. Which took Beastboy by surprise as he turned back to face her, only to catch her immediately in his chest as he wrapped his arms around her.

The two of them slowly drift back down to the ground where Terra had rushed to meet them as the land. When they finally touched down to earth, Beastboy plant his feet firmly and held Raven up as she leaned into him for support.

She was exhausted. That was the most she had ever used her powers before and it was taxing on both her mind and body.

She weakly looked up at Beastboy. Her eyes glowed not red, but amethyst. The beauty of her natural eye color. Beastboy stared back gazing deeply into her soul with a vast sense of desire. A look that Raven had been longing for, for as long as she could remember. She finally had it now. She was so beyond happy that she gave a small but genuine smile.

Beastboy blushed. He had never seen someone as beautiful as her even in her darkest moments. He was still embarrassed that he only now started to realize just how gorgeous she really was. After she smiled at him, he snapped back to reality and cleared his throat to try to break the tension, "_Ahem! _So uh..." He chuckled, "yeah... um... I..." even now with her powers under control he still couldn't manage to say it.

Raven stood up straight and stood on her own too feet. She looked down at the ground while Beastboy's arms remained gently wrapped around her waist. "I think I know what you mean now," she looked back up at him and her small smile never left her face.

Beastboy was speechless. The words that could seem to find their way out didn't need to be said at the moment. Everything seemed to fall into place and the world seemed as if it had found peace around them... But the peace didn't last long when Beastboy's communicator began to ring.

Beastboy gasped in panic. He completely forgot about Robin and the others and what kind of trouble they might be in fighting all those things in the city.

He reached into his belt and pulled out the small device bearing the letter "T." Once he flipped it open he didn't even get a chance to talk before Robin began wailing frantically on the other end, filling the air around them with unease and plunging their peaceful world back into chaos.

_"BEASTBOY! TELL ME YOU SAVED RAVEN! WE NEED YOU GUYS! CYBORG IS DYING!!!!"_


	55. Endings

**A/N: Welcome back! Sorry this one took so long. I've been swamped with school and work lately. But I love how this chapter turned out so far. Still need to edit it a little but I wanna get it to you guys so you don't try to come find me out of anger. lol I have one final chapter after this one to wrap everything up. So stay tuned for that! If you like this chapter please drop a review and tell me what I can do better. As always fav and follow for more. Thanks again! Hope you enjoy!**

In the center of the city, Cyborg's arm continued to bleep loudly with a distressing alarm. Even with all the noise from the devastation around them the only thing any of the Titan's could hear was the beeping from Cyborg.

"Cyborg!" Robin shouted as the omnidroids struggled to restrain him.

"Robin!" Starfire yelled fighting against her own slew of monsters holding her down. She sounded as if she was pleading with Robin to stop Cyborg from going through with it.

Cyborg could hear the distress in their voices. He lowered his head as if knowing there was no way to justify what he was doing to them. All he knew was this was the only way to stop these things and save his friends.

"I'm sorry," Cyborg said softly as the numerous creatures grabbed him as well, "take care of BB for me."

"NO!" Robin said as he grit his teeth fighting with all his might to free himself but to no avail.

A thunderous warcry filled the empty air with a massive show of power. Starfire used all the power she had and unleashed a devastating nova of green power. The blast was like a nuclear bomb exploding out from her sending every creature around her flying in all directions.

With her eyes still glowing green she quickly flew in cyborgs direction with tears in her eyes. She stretched her fists out infront of her as if trying to fly faster and her face was rich with a sense of desperation and determination.

The loud beeping from Cyborg grew louder and picked up in speed. Just before Starfire reached him he widened his stance to gain balance and threw his arms to his sides with tightly clenched fists. It was his turn to let out the loudest roar the half human had ever unleashed. A heavily immense sonic wave of blue power explode out from his chest where his glowing blue power cell remained exposed. This display of power dwarfed Starfire's recent show of force and expanded from him in every direction for two miles. Everything electrical in those two miles instantly shut down. Every building that hadnt been burned to the ground went black as the lights went out. The street lights that flashed through their usual red, yellow and green lights fell like dominos joining the growing darkness around them. The lights that kept the streets lit at night went out one after another and some of the bulbs even burst from their sockets.

The wave of blue passed from creature to creature freezing them where they stood. As the wave made contact with each one, the mechanical faces that held horrifying red eyes began to spark with with small bolts of blue electricity. Each body would slowly change back from whatever element it was to its original pale white material. One by one, each pair of red eyes slowly faded to black and the bodies began disintegrating into dust being carried off by the warm breeze of the heated air of the burning city. Each mechanical face would hit the ground with a clash. It almost sounded like a heavy down pour as each one hit the ground after the next.

Starfire was stopped in mid air from the loud roar of her half human friend. She looked around to see the result of his actions and her jaw dropped seeing the this unstopple army wiped out in a matter of seconds.

Cyborg still stood as the creatures fell around him. His mechanical body began to slowly lose its blue glow and he let out a quiet exhale and fell backwards to the ground with a loud thud.

Starfire snapped out of her amazement and flew over to her fallen friend, kneeling next to him. He was still alive. His exposed chest held the dimmest glow of blue electricity but the rest of his body had gone dark.

"Friend, please, how do I assist you?!" Starfire pleaded as her tears began streaming down her face. Robin approached from behind her and knelt down on the other side of Cyborg.

"There's nothing you can do, Star," Cyborg said weakly through half closed eyes.

Robin knelt on the other side of Starfire looking down at one of his closest friends dying right in front of him.

"We can still get you fixed!" Robin said refusing to accept Cyborg's words.

"It's alright y'all. There are worse ways I could have gone out," he said half joking trying to calm his friends down. Robin turned his head away clenching his jaw trying to show no emotion while Starfire continued to cry over Cyborg her tears now falling on his metal shoulder like a gentle rain. Cyborg tried with all his remaining strength to keep his eyes open and speak to his friends but as the seconds passed by it became nearly impossible to do so., "do you think... B-"

Before he could finish a bright white light in the distance lit up the sky. It drew the attention of all three of them. Robin and Starfiire turned their heads towards the glow. It then quickly took the shape of a massive bird like a Raven. It was miles and miles away but even from where they were, they could hear a faint screech from the glowing bird. It sounded like triumphant. Like a bird that had found freedom.

"Well..." Cyborg said with a small grin, "looks like he did it." He seemed to be hinting at something other than Beastboy just saving Raven... and with that Cyborg shut his eye and the red glow from the other faded.

Robin knew there were spare parts at the Tower for emergency situations like this. But they'd never make it in time. Unless...

He pulled his communicator from his belt. Hoping beyond hope that it hadn't been also wiped out in Cyborg's blast. To his surprise when he flipped it open it fired right up and worked completely fine. Thanks to his titanium cape it was shielded from the EMP Cyborg had unleashed. Robin's eyes went wide. Maybe... Just maybe there was still hope.

"BEASTBOY! TELL ME YOU SAVED RAVEN! WE NEED YOU GUYS! CYBORG IS DYING!!!!"

In the barren desert that had recently been torn apart from Raven's sheer power, the dark of the night seemed to grow even darker. The deafening silence around the three Titans didn't help either. They were in shock from what they just heard.

Beastboy's hand was held up in front of him, his communicator loosely grasped in his hand. Beastboy, Raven, and Terra were all staring at it with blank expressions on their faces. Thoughts were racing through their minds but they were unable to fully process them. Surely Robin didn't mean he was actually dying. That was just... a figure of speech... It had to be. Right? But the sound of Robin's voice chilled them to the bone and the imagined the worst.

As if waiting for the punchline of a joke they continued to stare at the communicator in silence until, after what felt like a lifetime, the cold night air was broken by Robins slightly static voice of absolute desperation.

_"Do you copy?! We need you guys here NOW! BEASTBOY?!"_

In that moment Raven's heart sank in her chest. She couldn't help but feel responsible for this. For all of this. She lowered her head and put her hood up turning away from the others.

"Beast-" Beastboy hesitated, "B-Beastboy to Robin, um..." His mind couldn't seem to focus on anything. The mixture of emotions was overwhelming. Just wrapping his head around the possible death of his best friend was eating him alive.

Terra swiped the communicator from his hand, "where are you Robin?!" Terra shouted, seeing how emotionally distraught Beastboy was. Beastboy seeing the sense of urgency and focus from Terra snapped him out of his daze and zoned in on Terra's lead, ready to go at a moments notice.

_"Terra?! Where's- Nevermind. We're in the center of the city!"_ Robin ignored his confusion over the communicator. He had more important things to worry about.

"Raven!" Terra shout. Raven half turned her head towards Terra hiding under her hood, "can you get us to the city?!"

Raven gave a small nod and turned to face Beastboy and Terra with her head still lowered. She raised her hands and orbs of dark energy swallowed her hands followed by a mass of dark energy that enveloped the three of them. In an instant the blackness vanished leaving the aftermath of destruction in the desert behind them.

In the city the three Titans were waiting with the deepest sense of terror. The only light illuminating the area was from the burning buildings around them. Sirens wailed in the not far off distance telling them fire fighters were still hard at work combating the fires and trying to save any lives that might be trapped within them.

While they wait in anticipation for the others to arrive Robin began searching the very depths of his memory to remember what it was he needed to save Cyborg. For the most part it just looked like Cyborg's power cell had a blown fuse. Which is exactly what happened. The EMP from a blow fuse this size could wpie out anything electrical within a two mile radius. This is a relatively simple fix... for a rocket scientist. However, Robin had been preparing for something like this just in case, but he never imagined he would actually have to do it. He was beginning to beat himself up for not putting more effort into the preperation.

Underneath them, a pitch black darkness appeared indicating Raven was arriving. Starfire picked up Cyborg as if he weighed nothing more than a small child and waited for the others to appear from the darkness.

When they emerged from the black empty space, Beastboy's eyes fixed on Cyborgs lifeless body. The dim blue light at his chest faded to nothing and Beastboy's heart shattered in his chest.

Raven felt the pain radiating off Beastboy and began to feel even worse. She wasted no time, she didn't even let her dark energy fade. She closed her eyes and before Robin could even speak she surrounded the others with her dark energy and they all vanished leaving the street littered with the faces of destroyed omnidroids.

The medical room at the Tower was dead silent and the room was dark. The lights then suddenly flickered on illuminating the room as if someone walked in triggering the motion sensors. Raven's dark energy cast a shadow across the floor and the 6 Titans appeared in the room and Robin sprung into action as Starfire set Cyborg down on a medical bed and taking a step back.

Robin dashed to the cabinets with a label that said _S__pare Parts - DO NOT TOUCH BB! _A message Cyborg had left his best friend who always seemed to dabble into Cyborg's things with a bad habit of breaking them. Robin nearly ripped the cabinet doors off as he began pouring through parts looking for one in particular. Within seconds he found what he was looking for and ran to Cyborgs side examining his friends chest and how to proceed.

Sweat began to bead on his brow as he continued searching his mind for the answers he had once prepared for. As time ticked on the others watched closely with anticipation as Robin was slowly figuring out the correct procedure.

"Y-you can fix him... Right?" Beastboy asked. He sounded like a toddler begging his parents to take care of everything and make everything ok.

Raven saw the small glimmer of hope in his eyes but she could already sense the tragic truth. He was already gone.

As Robin began working on Cyborg's chest installing a new power cell, Raven could sense that Cyborgs essence was no longer coming from his body... yet... it was still nearby. She turned her head to her left where the empty space of the room seemed to have a strange presence around it. Her eyes widened and tears began to fall from her eyes sliding down her cheeks.

"Cyborg?" She whispered to herself.

Beastboy looked at her, "huh?" He asked hoping she had good news.

Raven looked back at him and couldn't bear to tell him. But her face already said it all. Beastboy's eyes went wide and he began to break down as he fell to his knees. Terra could also see the truth in Raven's eyes. She began to tear up and knelt next to Beastboy to comfort him.

Raven watched her love collapsing and couldn't help but cry harder. She was straining to fight back her tears as she looked around the room at her friends. She looked at Robin who still hadn't given up yet. Then she looked at Starfire who also still clung on to hope, then back at Beastboy and Terra, sobbing, who knew just she did... there was none.

Raven looked back at the empty space that still held the presence of someone close to her. She took a deep breath, wiped her eyes and began levitating in her meditation pose.

_Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos..._

She let her feelings swarm her, and her eyes released a flurry of emotion with no sense of holding back. Her power surged just as before on the roof but instead of creating a whirlwind, she opened her eyes to find she was in a completely different place.

It was a wide open, vast and empty space of bright white light. There were no walls, no floors. Just... birght, white, nothingness. The complete opposite of what she saw when she first entered Terra's mind. As she looked around she found a familiar face standing to her left where she sensed a presence earlier.

Cyborg stood next to her looking back at her with a big smile. She barely recognized him. He was completely human. His body was built like a pro-athlete and he wore nothing but a pair of shorts as if he just went for a run on the beach. His muscles were toned in every place of his body. So much so that Raven could see muscles she didn't even know existed. She was impressed beyond belief.

"C-Cyborg?" She said hesitantly as she removed her hood.

"Hey Raven," he replied as if greeting an old friend he hadn't seen in years, "my real name is Victor," he raised his arms and looked down at his human hands, "suppose Cyborg doesn't really fit now does it?" He chuckled.

Raven began balling as she lunged forward wrapping her arms around his body. He was so massive she could barely get her arms all the way around him, "I'm so sorry!" She sobbed into his chest, "it's all my fault! This whole thing! I'm just... I'm so so sorry!" She said in between sobs.

Victor hugged her back with a warm and inviting smile, "yo... chill, girl. You can't blame yourself for what any of us would have done given the same circumstances."

She looked up at him as the tears continued to pour out of her.

"You know that any of us would have sacrificed ourselves to save you or any one else," Victor continued, "we're heroes. It's what we do." He finished with a loving smile that showed no regret.

This made Raven even sadder. She refused to accept that her life or anyone else's life was more valuable than another's.

"I don't... want you to go," Raven struggled to say over her sobs.

"Not much we can do about that now," Victor replied softly, "but look..." he said gesturing to the empty space.

The vast emptiness had been filled with a ghostly image of the real world. Raven and Victor found themselves looking at the medical room in the Tower. The Titans surrounded Cyborg's body on the medical bed. Robin still working away at the power cell, Starfire watching closely, Beastboy on his knees sobbing and Terra kneeling next to him trying to comfort him.

"I'd do it all over again for you guys. You guys never give up. You never lose hope. And you're willing to go to the ends of the earth for each other," Victor looked back at Raven who's watery eyes were still fixed on his lifeless half-machine body, "I couldn't imagine what the world would be like without y'all in it."

Raven looked back up at Cyborg with a sense of complete dread. She couldn't imagine a world with out them in it either... But what about him? What will the would be like without _him _in it? She broke down sobbing into his chest once more.

"I'm glad I got to see you one last time," Victor said hugging her tightly. His smile disappeared as he prepared himself to embrace the unknown.

Raven squeezed him tighter. All the memories of the Titans together began flooding her mind. Battling evil, eating pizza, going through heartbreak and struggle together. She wasn't ready to give it up.

"No..." Raven said softly with a stern tone, "I... I won't let you go."

"It'll be ok," Victor said letting go of Raven to look her in the eyes. But she had her head lowered, "tell BB and the others... I'm gonna miss them and I love all of y'all. Even though I never said it... I really do."

Raven clenched her teeth and the tears continued to stream down her cheeks. In that moment... Starfire's voice echoed through her mind...

_You must let go. Whatever you are feeling you must let yourself feel it._

"No..." She said under her breath with the same stern tone, "No!" She began raising her voice to a shout, "you're not dying! Tell them yourself!"

Her eyes shot open glowing bright white. Brighter than the emptiness around them. Her power surged and had grown even more powerful than she ever thought possible as she unleashed all her raw emotion.

"AZARATH... METHRION... ZINTHOS!!!"

Victor's face grew a proud smile. He wasn't the least bit surprised. It was as if he knew she had something big within her, just been waiting to be unleashed.

The glow from her eyes grew steadily brighter and brighter, overpowering everything in the vast emptiness as if dissolving everything around her with the silent explosion of a nuclear bomb.

In the real world Raven's meditiative state was silent and it didn't seem like she was responsive to anything.

Robin was still hard at work putting all his energy into fixing the power cell. With one final click, he pressed the power cell back into place and tossed the one Cyborg sacrificed over his shoulder where it hit the ground with a loud clang.

He held his breath...

Starfire held her breath as well...

The room was silent except for Beastboy's soft sobbing and Terra's soothing voice whispering to him.

But... Nothing happened.

Robin feared he took too long. His fears of losing one of his closest friends was slowly becoming reality. He clenched his teeth and his fists. His whole body soon tensed up as well, putting him into an internal rage. Starfire saw his silent reaction and feared the worst had come to pass.

Just as all hope had vanished from the room, Raven's eyes opened wide from her meditative state illuminating the entire room as she cried out with an insane amount of passion and power.

Beastboy stopped sobbing. He and Terra turned in a panic towards Raven. Robin and Starfire also turned to see her body levitating and emitting such a power none of them had never thought possible from Raven. The four of them shielded their eyes from the blinding light with their arms.

The light from Raven's eyes was so bright it blinded the entire room before she fainted and fell to the floor from where she had just been levitating. She hit the ground with a thud letting out a soft moan as if she had just lifted the world itself off her shoulders.

The four Titans watched her with wide eyes wondering what the heck just happened.

"Don't worry y'all..."

Everyone's gaze darted to where Cyborg lay. Their eyes went even wider and they watched his armor-like body light back up with its usual blue glow and his eye slowly opened as the mechanical one regained its red glow. He sat up with a groan rubbing the back of his head and looked down at Raven where she had fainted. He put his hand down and a small smile came across his face. He let out a soft chuckle as the others stared in amazement...

"There's nothin' our girl can't handle."


	56. And

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait! I had so much to say and wrap up that I had to break the chapter into two parts. I just want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart. Seriously... you guys made this such an amazing journey. I swear when I began this story I was expecting maybe one or two people to read it. If you had told me that 84 people were going to follow this story and read all 57 chapters and talk about it and share how they feel about it, I would have called you crazy. As I write this I can't tell you the feelings I'm experiencing or how touched I am by your encouragement and kind words and I don't know how I could possibly thank you all. So once more... THANK YOU. Alright... now on to the ending. I hope you enjoy!**

The room was dead silent. It was as if everyone had fallen under a spell as they stared at what they once thought to be impossible. Cyborg was sitting up on the medical bed looking down at Raven who had fainted from exhaustion.

Robin had his jaw hanging from his head in awe. He still couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"C-Cyborg?" He said cautiously under his breath. It was almost as if he feared speaking any louder would shatter reality.

Cyborg turned his head and locked eyes with Robin. Robins face had a story of disbelief written all over it. He smirked and began to reply to his friend, "yeah it's me. I'm still a little banged up," he said looking down at his exposed power cell, "but I should be able to fix it."

Robin relaxed a little seeing his friend was ok as if nothing had happened, "I'm sorry," he said with a sense of guilt, "I tried to get you repaired as fast as possible but-"

"Don't worry about it, man," Cyborg cut him off, "you did a pretty good job for only going over it with me a few times."

"But how are you... um... still functional?" Starfire said softly with a sense of confusion.

The rest of the room turned their attention to Cyborg. The elephant in the room had been addressed and everyone wanted answers.

"Hey don't ask me," Cyborg said raising his hands defensively, "I don't know what she did... But our girl here brought me back." He gestured towards Raven laying on the ground.

The room now stared at Raven's unconscious position on the floor. They were all extremely surprised that Raven could even do something like this. They didn't know the full extent of her power, but they always knew she had _something _in her that was laying dormant. Waiting to come bursting out of her to unlock her full potential.

"So then... She will be, ok?" Starfire asked still confused.

Cyborg stood up and walked over to Raven. He scanned her vitals then looked back at the team, "yeah she'll be fine. She just pushed herself a little too hard and fainted."

The team let out a huge sigh of relief. That's the second time the Titans had escaped death in just a few weeks. They seemed to be getting used to it by now.

Robin looked at the rest of his team one by one. Each member locking eyes with him. Everyone was alive. Everyone was in one piece. This was real. They won. They beat an indestructible army with all the odds stacked against them, yet again. The five of them looked back forth at each other. It was surreal. Like they could breathe easy for the first time in months. Terra leaned on to Beastboy where he knelt next to Raven and let out a massive sigh of relief and exhaustion. Everyone followed her lead and began to silently revel in their success and unbelievably good luck at scrapping by with their lives. It seemed as if the Gods themselves weren't ready to take them in yet. It was like a dream. A moment of victory. But how long would it last _this _time?

The room calmed down and the rest of the Titans began to feel the exhaustion as well. Time had slowly ticked on into the early hours of the next morning.

"Well," Beastboy said softly looking down at Raven, "I'm gonna get her to her room and put her to bed." He morphed into a sasquatch looking creature and picked her up like a bride and began walking out of the medical room.

"I'll help you!" Terra said as she sped up behind him. Beastboy turned to wait for her. As soon as she caught up they head towards Raven's room together.

Cyborg looked at Robin then back down at his exposed core, "I could use a hand putting the rest of me back together," he said with a smile to his leader.

Robin smiled back and gave him a nod. He looked at Starfire who had a twinkle in her eye. She was so happy the joy was radiating off her like a fire. Robin held out his hand to her. She reached out to him and they interlocked their fingers and began walking side by side following Cyborg to his room to finish repairs.

Beastboy and Terra walked into Raven's room. Terra ran over to Raven's bed and pulled the sheets and blanket exposing the soft and inviting bed Raven slept on every night. Beastboy put Raven down in a comfortable position on the velvet sheet that covered her mattress. Once he set her down he shape shift back to his original body and took the sheets and blanket from Terra's helping hand and placed them gently over Raven's shoulders, leaving just her violet hair and beautiful pale face exposed.

Raven moaned softly as a small smile spread across her unconscious face. She hripped the blanket with a tight fist and pulled it under the pale but soft skin under her chin. With a sigh Beastboy looked at Terra who had a giddy look on her face like she knew something he didn't.

"What?" Beastboy said feeling slightly uncomfortable.

"Nothing," Terra said teasingly as she began heading for the door, "she deserves a guy like you, is all."

Beastboy chuckled, "what's that supposed to mean?"

"It means you two are perfect for each other," she winked at him and began to leave the room. Beastboy followed behind her before Terra turned around in the doorway blocking his exit, "you should stay," she said encouragingly, "she's gonna want to know what happened. And shes definitely gonna want to see you when she wakes up." She smiled big at him.

"Dude... Last time I went into Raven's room without her knowing, I was teleported into her mind," he said honestly, "I doubt she would want me in here."

"Things change, Beastboy," Terra said with a sense of nostalgia, "_you've_ changed. The Raven you remember... she's changed too." With that, she left and the door slid shut behind her.

Beastboy was taken back to the day he tried to get Terra to come with him from her school. The words echoed in his mind just as she said them the first time at her school. But now... Now they had a different meaning. A positive and encouraging meaning.

Beastboy looked back at Raven's exposed face and perfect hair. He didn't want to leave her, now that he thought about it. He let out a big yawn as the physical and mental stress of the battle began to catch up with him. He approached the bed and morphed into a small household cat. He pounced up on the soft silk like blanket and made several circles in one spot as his feline instincts took over, before stretching his body out as long as he could and curling up in a ball and falling into a deep sleep at the feet of the woman he loved.

Smoke still rose above the city from the embers of extinguished flames. The firefighters and other service men and women worked through the night to save their home from turning to ash. The dawn in the distance was beginning to rise with the promise of a new day and the end of a nightmare. The Tower and a few other buildings were the only ones that seemed untouched from the man made apocalypse that just ravaged the city. The Titans could only hope their actions to stop the massive onslaught would make things right between them and the city.

The sunlight began to peek through the windows of Raven's room. It was early in the morning and everyone hadn't really slept from the night of chaos they just experienced but they were able to at least lay down and shut their eyes for a moment.

Raven was in a deep restless sleep. Her head was pounding and she didn't sleep well in her unconscious state. As the sun continued to glow brighter in her room she groaned and rolled over in her bed. Her eyes cracked open with her vision groggy and the pain in her head wasn't helping. She sat up putting the palm of her right hand on her gemstone, wincing as she closed her eyes tightly, trying to numb the pain. She let out a sigh and put her hand down. When she opened her eyes she nearly jumped when she saw something she wasn't expecting.

An extremely tired green cat was curled up in a ball at the foot of her bed, fast asleep. At first Raven was shocked but as the rest of the night started flooding her mind she remembered who saved her from herself. Who made her feel loved when she needed to feel it most. The pain in her head vanished as a small smile spread across her face.

She reached down to stroke the soft green fur of the hidden beast in front of her but hesitated for a moment... She's never had someone care for her the way he does. She's never even had a real boyfriend.

_Is this ok?_ She asked herself. _Will he be mad if I touched him?_

This was all brand new to her. She had no idea what to expect or what the rules were. But her heart was screaming at her to do _something_. _ANYTHING_ to show him she truly appreciated his actions.

She buried her negative thoughts and moved closer, taking the risk she feared so much. Her hand was shaking slightly and she began by stroking his head so gently as to not wake him up. Then stroking the back of his neck, following his spine down to his tail.

The green cat's head immediately woke and spun around to see the woman of his dreams smiling down at him with a warmth he'd never seen before. He leapt off the bed to the floor and changed into himself.

"Raven!" He said, shaking in his boots, "I'm sorry! I-I-I just... Didn't want to leave you alone! Not after everything we went through! I know I shouldn't have been sleeping in your bed but it's just that-"

Raven chuckled and waved a hand to silence him.

"It's ok," she liked this fear she was getting from him. It made her feel powerful but respected. Something she would want from a significant other, "it was... a nice surprise. Seeing you first thing in the morning, I mean." She smiled once more.

Beastboy blushed and put a hand on the back of his head, "so uh... you're... not mad? About last night?"

"Mad?" She asked confused. A rush of panic filled her heart. Her head filled with thoughts that Beastboy wasn't being honest when he talked her down.

"You know..." He hesitated, "that I uh... That we..."

"Kissed?" Raven said finishing for him.

"Well yeah," Beastboy said blushing bright red.

Raven could see her thoughts were betraying her. Beastboy's face held the look of a man at the mercy of a woman. He meant everything he said and did but she had never allowed it from anyone before. No one had ever done anything like that with Raven before. His concerns seemed to have a reasonable purpose behind them.

"No!" Raven said urgently trying to reassure him that she actually wanted that for a while now, "I mean, no. I actually kinda..." She trailed off.

"Kinda... What?" Beastboy said nervously.

"Well... I kinda... might have liked it." Now Raven's face began to blush.

Now the two of them had a hard time looking each other in the eye facing each other with an awkward silence between them and both their faces turned red. A long pause resonated through the room as neither of them knew what to say until finally Beastboy swallowed his nervousness and spoke up.

"So... does that mean... You'll... um..." He paused and looked at her, who in turn looked at him locking eyes as if trying to read each others thoughts, "you know..." Beastboy struggled to continue, "um..." He started getting frustrated with himself and began to wonder why it was so difficult for him to talk to Raven all of a sudden. He put his hand down, opened his mouth and tried to speak but no words came out. It aggravated him even more to the point his fristration began to boil over. "YOU WILL BE MY GIRLFRIEND?!" He shouted as he closed his eyes bracing for the worst. He didn't know how else to say it. He had to force the words out of his mouth and he was worried that he might have blew it in the manner he said it.

Raven's eyes went wide. She didn't expect that. Not this soon. It filled her heart with joy and panic all at the same time. She had no idea how to be a girlfriend. Love was still a relatively new concept to her. She began to think about everything she could do to ruin their relationship. But the more she thought about it... the more she realized... Beastboy didn't have much experience at being a boyfriend either. Maybe they could figure it out together. Maybe they _could_ make it work.

All of her being wanted to say yes at the top of her lungs and yet, she had this lingering doubt in the back of her mind that grew stronger and stronger with each passing second that she thought about it. What if she lost control again like she did last night? Would he be caught in the middle of it again? Would she end up hurting him or worse by accident? The panic began to rush through her and she didn't know what to say.

"I..." Raven began, "I... don't think that's a good idea." The words left her mouth like blades. They sliced across her lips as if damaging herself. She wanted to be with him more than anything but she couldn't risk his life just for her happiness.

Beastboy's heart sank along with his ears. He began to question everything he thought knew and everything his friends had been saying.

"Is it... because of something I did?" Beastboy said with a heavy heart. He was trying to get some clarity.

"No! Absolutely not!" Raven spoke up trying to reassure him, "it's just that... I don't want to hurt you like I did last night. I remember everything."

Raven looked down at her hands. Even when Slades mask was on her she could still see and hear everything going on around her. She could see all the damage she did to him. It was the same with her dark side. When her dark side took control she could still see and hear everything. After all... that _was _her. She didn't want to risk going through that all over again.

"I'm sorry Beastboy," she said softly as her voice began to crack, "for everything... I just can't put you through that again."

Beastboy understood now. Raven said no not because of him... but because of herself and the power she had to contain within. He walked over to her bed and crawled on to it kneeling down in front of where she sat. He picked up her hands and held them before he spoke to her in the most soothing tone Raven had ever heard from him.

"I'd go through that every day for the rest of my life for you," Beastboy moved one hand to her chin and lift her head so she would look him in the eyes. Her eyes had began to water but it was unclear to him whether they were of joy or sadness or a mixture of both. "Listen Rae, I don't care about the dangers. I don't care about your flaws. I don't care about your past and what people think of you. To me, your perfect the way you are. And I will love every single one of your personalities no matter which one takes control. They are all apart of you. And I love every last bit of you."

Raven blinked a few tears away but a few still managed to fall from her eyes, "even if I'm creepy, and dark, and evil?" She struggled to get out.

"Even if you were the daughter of the devil himself," he said with a warm and inviting smile.

Raven wiped her tears and wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in tightly forcing him to fall on top of her as she fell back onto her bed. Beastboy rolled to her right side and wrapped his arms around her waist pulling his body tightly against hers in return. He held her while she softly let tears come pouring out. After a long moment of silence in their passionate embrace, Beastboy tried to break the ice.

"So... is that still a no?" He chuckled.

"No." Raven quickly respond.

"Oh..." Beastboy said in a disappointed tone, "I uh... I understand. We can still be-" Beastboy was cut off as Raven gently nudged him as she pulled away to look him in the eyes.

"No, you idiot," she laughed, "I mean its a yes." She then gripped the back of his neck and pulled him in to her face where their lips connected in a scramble of emotions that lit up both of their worlds like fireworks on the 4th of July.

They shared this moment of passion for an extended amount of time, forcing them to take a deep breath through the nose, fearing the moment would end too soon if they pulled away for a breath of fresh air. When the moment finally ended they gently pulled away from each other and lay still looking into each others eyes. Beastboy looked as if he had bright stars in his eyes while Raven marveled at the way he stared at her.

"Wow," Beastboy said as he ogled Raven's beauty, "what Cyborg said makes a lot of sense now." He chuckled.

Immediately after he said Cyborg's name Raven sat straight up remembering what had happened the night before.

"Cyborg!" She exclaimed, "Is he ok?!"

Beastboy sat up slowly next to her trying not to worry her, "yeah. He's fine. He said it was all thanks to you?" He sounded confused as if probing Raven for answers.

Raven thought back to her memories of him without his mechanical half. The white empty space that surrounded them. Almost like a purgatory before you enter the unknown.

"I'm... not sure..." Raven said honestly, "it's all a blur. I remember speaking to him. The _real _him. Without his armor. Then I just... couldn't let him go..."

Beastboy smiled at her filled with pride, "come on. Let's go see him." He stood up and took Raven by the hand and led her towards the door.

They made their way into the living area where Cyborg could be seen making breakfast.

"Good morning y'all!" He shouted, happy to be alive, "I think every time we save the world we should celebrate with my famous french toast!" As he finished speaking he set out 6 plates of french toast where all the Titans sat at the table. Robin sat next to Starfire with Terra across from them. Cyborg took the seat next to Starfire as Raven and Beastboy approached the table.

Raven sat next to Terra with Beastboy sitting on Raven's other side. She locked eyes with Terra for a moment as Terra gave her a big smile as if understanding her and accepting her. Raven smiled back with a nod and turned to Cyborg where her eyes went wide.

"I can't believe it... I saw you... You were..." Raven dared not finish her sentence.

"Sure was," Cyborg said half joking, "if it weren't for you... I wouldn't be here right now."

"We are most thankful for your actions," Starfire said to Raven with the upmost gratitude.

"Yeah," Terra add, "you really pulled it off." She smiled again.

"So..." Beastboy chimed in, "does that mean you can bring anyone back from the dead? I had a pet gerbil back when I was a kid that was my best friend before he passed away..."

Raven's face immediately showed a heavy amount of irritation as her left eyebrow twitched. There's the annoying Beastboy she knew so well. But for some reason... this time around, she loved the annoyance.

"I don't think it works that way, Beastboy," Raven respond in her annoyed tone, "I don't even know _what_ I did exactly... I could sense Cyborg's presence outside his body and just..." She trailed off. She truly didn't know what she did. In the moment she just let her emotions guide her and lead the way to get her desired outcome. Just as Starfire had told her.

"Well whatever you did, it saved the team," Robin said smiling, "I don't know what we'd do without you Raven." Robin sounded sincere and honest. Like the team would be lost without her.

They sat for a moment before Cyborg lead the table in their latest battle against the french toast in front of them by scarfing down everything on his plate in a few seconds. The rest of the team chuckled as they also began digging in. Everything seemed back to normal. The team was all together and they lived to fight another day. Until trouble called again...

In fact... More trouble came calling as the doorbell rang shortly after they finished breakfast.


	57. New Beginnings

**A/N: Final note: yes, there will be a season 7. :) Due to popular demand and I feel like its the least I can do to thank you guys for reading. Stay tuned for the next story! Hope to see you guys there!**

The entire team stared at the front door from the kitchen table wondering what it could be. A sense of panic was filling the room and putting them in an uneasy state.

The doorbell rang again.

Robin stood up and began walking to the front door as the team watched. He hit the doors latch and it rushed open.

Standing in front of him was Detective Smith. He wore his work attire. A collared shirt with black khakis and a belt that stowed a pistol in the back and his badge on the front.

"Robin!" He said with a uplifting tone.

"Detective," Robin said in a defensive tone, "I see your suspension has been lifted."

The rest of the team had gotten up from the table and moved to Robin's back greeting Detective Smith in greater numbers.

"Yeah," the Detective said looking away for a moment with intimidation, "they put me back on the force after seeing you guys help the city last night."

"What do you want?" Robin said trying to get to the point.

Smith looked up at the heroes with a warm smile, "I have great news. The mayor wants to hold a rally at city hall to honor you and your team's actions to save the city!"

The entire team's eyes went wide in shock. They couldn't believe it. They did it. They won the trust of the city again and could finally go back to being heroes.

Robin turned to face his team, "what do you guys think? Should we go?"

"Uh... YEAH!" Cyborg yelled with excitement as stars shined in his eyes. He sounded as if that was a dumb question.

The rest of the Titans laughed at his response and nodded in agreement. Robin smiled and nodded back at them but deep down there was something he needed to do and it looks like the time to do it had arrived.

The Titans arrived at city hall where thousands and thousands of citizens had appeared to greet them with gratitude for saving so many lives and the city itself.

The mayor greeted them with applause as the cheers and thunderous applause from the citizens filled the air following the mayors lead.

The Titans had a proud and excited look on their faces. Starfire was waving to the crowd while giggling to herself hovering slightly off the ground.

Standing next to the mayor were Terra's adopted parents who wore the proudest smile on their faces. A smile Terra had never seen from them before. She rushed past the Titans and wrapped her arms around them.

"We are so proud of you Terra!" Lindsey said unable to contain her emotions.

Terra felt so proud of herself for doing some good for a change. She looked up at her father who spoke up with even more good news...

"Detective Smith told us the mayor pardoned all of your past crimes against the city. He's given you a clean slate for a new life!" Carver add looking up at the mayor who smiled at them with a nod.

Terra looked at the mayor and a baffled look of excitement dawned her face as if she thought she were dreaming. But no... This was real. Terra had earned herself a second chance with her new life. She couldn't help but cry tears of joy with the biggest smile on her face.

The mayor wore a tailored suit to his overweight body and short stature. He was clean shaven and balding but he had a professionalism about him that made him seem very trust worthy. He motioned to the Titans to stand next him as he approached the podium to address the city. He raised his hands to the crowd and they began to calm down and silence themselves to hear what the mayor had to say.

"My fellow citizens," the mayor started. His voice was deep and powerful. Something you would expect from a political leader, "never before has our city seen this kind of destruction and violence. In the face of it we were powerless. Weak. Unable to defend ourselves. We faced the end of our beautiful city. If not for these brave young heroes we would have perished completely. I know you have heard the vicious rumors about them... but rest assured we had our best men in the police force investigate their actions and have found them innocent! I find it hard to believe that these heroes would do anything that might damage our city or our loved ones without good reason! After seeing how much they did for us in our most desperate time of need I think I speak for all of us when I say..." he turned towards Robin and the others while leaning over the mic, "Teen Titans, we apologize for doubting you. Most of all... We thank you for everything you do for us and you have our full support from now till the end of time!"

The crowd roared in agreement with the mayor. The whole city was grateful for them. Even with half the city destroyed they could still rebuild their lives in peace, knowing the Titans were there to protect them.

"On behalf of the city, please accept these medals as a token of our gratitude and as a symbol of our continued trust in you!" The mayor continued over the roar of the crowd.

The crowd grew even louder, proud to see their heroes receive some much deserved attention.

The mayor stepped towards the Titans placing a gold medal with a red ribbon around each of their necks. When he got to Robin he motioned to the podium as if encouraging him to say a few words.

Robin stepped forward and stood in front of the crowd with a stack of nerves.

"Thank you... For believing in us again," he spoke softly into the microphone. Then he looked down as if realizing something, "but if I'm being honest... This attack on your city was caused by us."

The people fell silent in shock as they eagerly waited for him to speak again.

"This attack was staged as a way to get to us by the notorious villan Slade, who we've been fighting ever since we came here." Robin began to speak with strength, "I myself fell into an obsessed rage, trying to stop him from hurting all of you. At one point we defeated him. But as fate would have it he found a way back. Which is why this whole attack is our fault. It's _my _fault. He came after the city as a way to get us and he nearly succeeded in bring some of my team down."

Robin turned from the crowd and faced his teammates. His family. He couldn't bare the image of nearly losing them. He thought back to what his mentor had told him over the phone...

_"I never thought I'd hear from YOU again,"_ Bruce said over the speaker.

_"Don't get the wrong idea... I don't want your help. I just need some advice."_ Robin replied.

_"I've been watching the news. Looks like you got yourselves into some deep trouble,"_ Batman shot back.

Robin lowered his head slightly knowing fully well his mentor was right. For the first time since the Titans had formed their team he had no idea what to do.

_"How... how do I fix this?"_ Robins voice sounded full of defeat.

_"I told you, you weren't ready to go solo yet. I still don't think you are. That's why when I heard you found a team, I was a bit relieved."_ Bruce spoke softly as if trying to console his former sidekick, _"being in the leadership position you're in was the perfect place for you when you left. I knew one day you'd face a situation where your talent and skills wouldn't be able to help you. Looks like this is it."_

Robin glared at the speaker phone taking his words with a gain of salt, _"so what should I do?"_

_"It's not a matter of WHAT. It's a matter of character," _Batman sounded like he was speaking from experience, _"a leader helps his team however he can. He listens to their concerns, their problems, their struggles and he does everything he can to help. He takes all the glory for his teams success and he trusts them with his life,"_ Bruce paused to let that sink in for a moment, _"but a leader also takes ALL of the blame for his teams failures. A leader will never let his team go down without him. Above all... a true leader doesn't hide anything from his team. He tells them everything and he doesn't leave anything out. Trust can only make it so far when its built on intelligence and skill alone. True trust, the trust with anothers life, comes from the deep connection when you know everything there is to know about the person you risk your life for. A leader... a TRUE leader... doesn't prove himself on the battle field. He proves himself in the hearts of the team he leads. When a leader proves himself in the hearts of his team he can do anything."_

Robin stared at his team's faces as they watched his every move with concern. He gave them a small but encouraging smile and stepped towards them so he was close and personal. The Titans began to grow worried. They had never seen this kind of behavior from their leader and it scared them. They didn't know what he was going to do.

Robin slowly reached up to his face where he gripped the corners of his mask and gently tugged it off revealing closed eyes to his team. They all gasped in shock not understanding what was happening.

Robin opened his eyes and looked his team in the face. He had stunning hazel eyes that shined like soft emeralds. Starfire covered her mouth in horror not understanding why he was doing this.

"I wanted you guys to know first," he said softly, "my name is Richard Grayson. My parents died in a circus accident when I was a kid. Ever since then I vowed I wouldn't let anyone else feel that pain if I could do something about it."

"Robin..." Starfire said softly, "I don't understand..."

"Call me Dick," Richard replied, "all of you can call me Dick," he said addressing the rest of the team, "that's what my parents used to call me before they..." he trailed off, looking away for a moment, "I don't want any secrets between us anymore." He finished with a smile before turning back to the crowd.

He stepped towards the podium with confidence in his hazel eyes showing his face to the city.

"My name is Richard Grayson," he said loudly, "I am the leader of the Teen Titans. They did everything under my command and I accept full responsibility for my teams actions for the damages and problems the city has encountered over the years. And I will pay the price the city sees fit."

"What?!" Cyborg said frustrated.

"Yeah no way dude!" Beastboy agreed reaching out to their leader, "we are just as responsible as you are!"

Richard turned back to his team, "thanks guys, but this is something I've been avoiding for too long. You guys need to keep fighting. Keep protecting people. And keep looking out for each other. This is my last order for you. For all of you"

Raven and Terra looked at each other with a deep sense of worry. What did this mean for the rest of the team? What was going to happen to them?

"But-" Starfire started before Richard interrupted.

"No. This has to be done. I need you all to trust me on this." He spoke softly as if his strength had turned into a plea for understanding.

Starfire stepped back as her eyes began to water. The others watched her and decided to follow her lead. She had the most to lose from this. After all... she and Robin shared feelings for each other that were stronger than any of the others.

Robin smiled once more and turned back to the crowd, "I hereby give up my position as the leader of the Titans but I leave you in good hands," he turned to Starfire while still addressing the crowd, "she's the most thoughtful and caring person I've ever met. On her home world she was born to be a leader. A true ruler of a powerful world. I can assure you she is more than capable of leading the Titans against whatever the city may face. She won't let you down." Robin nod towards Starfire as she began to cry. He turned back to the crowd, "when there's trouble you know who to call!"

The crowd was in shock but they couldn't help but admire the bravery and passion coming from this young man who was accepting responsibility for everything. One person began to clap for him, another soon followed. Then another. Before long the whole city was applauding Richard's character as a man. He didn't have to do that but by taking responsibility he made the city trust the Titans even more.

With that Richard removed his medal, placing it on the podium, and stepped down towards Detective Smith who had a massive look of shock on his face. Richard held out his hands as if asking for hand cuffs. With a sigh of disappointment he placed the cuffs on Richard's wrists and began moving him to a squad car. Starfire began to fly to him but Cyborg grabbed her wrist and held her back.

"Let him go Star," he said softly with sadness in his voice, "he knows what he's doing... I hope."

The rest of the Titans watched in absolute disbelief as their best friend and leader sat down in the back of the squad car. This was the first time they had ever seen his face and as far as they knew it was the last time as well. Robin looked at them one last time through the widow of the car and he smiled with eyes glowing with pride. He knew he was doing what he needed to do and he felt good about it. It felt freeing even though now he was locked away. The crowd continued to applaud him even as the squad car drove away.

Raven and Beastboy looked at each other, buried in sorrow, and wrapped each other in their arms. Terra did the same but fell into her parents arms seeking comfort. They squeezed her back trying their best to give her the comfort she needed. Cyborg held Starfire fire back as her tears streamed down her face.

"This... Is a very unexpected turn of events today," the mayor announced taking his place at the podium, "but I think we can all agree these young heroes hold themselves to a much higher standard than we ever imagined. Is there anyone else you would want watching over us?!"

The crowd roared once more agreeing full heartedly with their mayor.

"Please help me in thanking the Titans once more for their bravery. Their Honor. Their courage. And their sacrifice!"

The crowd grew louder once more as the Titans continued to console each other over the loss of their leader and best friend but from the reaction of the crowd they truly understood what he did and why. They never trusted him more than now. They had never been more proud of him.

They had absolutely no idea what to do at this point. So without saying another word to the crowd, they head home to the Tower. But no celebrations were to be had. They loved Robin like family. The trusted him more than anyone and now there were no secrets between them. Which made adjusting even harder.

At the cities jail Richard walked down the hall of jail cells each occupied by a villain or criminal. Richard wore an orange jumpsuit and chains cuffed to his hands and feet being led by Detective Smith. The detective wore a deep sadness on his face as if his hard work to keep the Titans out of prison was all for nothing.

"Why Rob-," Smith stopped himself before he finished the Titan's former name. If any of the prisoners they were walking past knew who he was they would tear him apart once they got the chance, "_Richard_." He corrected himself, "why?"

"I don't think you would understand. But it was something I had to do," Robin said with a sense of duty in his voice.

The detective sighed with a heavy heart as they finally reached the former hero's cell. He unlocked it and held the door open as Robin walked in taking a seat on the cold uncomfortable bench.

"I'll do what i can to ensure your safety in here... But please be careful." The detective said with a concerned tone as he locked the cell. When Richard didn't respond he turned with his head held low and walked away.

The day ticked away as Richard remained in his cell. He lay on his back with his arms folded behind his head on the uncomfortable bench that was also his bed. Even in this dark and depressing place Richard's mind was at ease as if he found peace within himself. Through the window of his cell he could see night had fallen over the city but contrusction vehciles and men busy at work continued to clean up their city and rebuild their lives even in the dark.

Even though he was in a building filled with people who would kill him as soon as they looked at him he had never felt more at peace. But Richard's peace vanished when the clicking of keys unlocking his cell followed by a loud bang when his cell door opened.

He sat up on the awful bed he laid on to see detective Smith standing in front of him holding a small box under his left arm

"Richard Grayson?" He said with an upbeat tone, "congratulations. You made bail."

"What?!" Richard respond in shock. His emerald eyes going wide.

"Yeah!" Smith said excited to set him free, "an anonymous source paid your debt! All of it! He also delivered a package here for you." He said handing the package to Richard.

Richard took the box and continued to stare at the detective in awe.

"I'm sure you know the way out," Smith said with a smirk, "I have a few _real_ criminals I have to find cells for." With that he made his exit leaving the cell door open and giving Richard some privacy to open the package.

Richards hazel eyes looked down at the package and began to open the letter he found tied to the top of it. There was nothing written on the envelope but when he opened it he immediately recognized the hand writing and began reading the short message.

_I thought you might need a new look. You're ready. - B_

Richard's smile grew wide and he began to open the box. When he saw what was inside his smile grew wider.

Back at the Tower the Titans didn't celebrate. They actually were trying to figure out how they heck they were going to carry on with out their best friend. Cyborg was in the garage alone working on the T-Car trying to distract himself.

Raven laid on her back, across the couch resting her head on Beastboy's lap as she read the book she still hadn't finished since before the first omnidroid was defeated by Beastboy. Her mind was elsewhere though. So much had happened she found it hard to concentrate. She found herself re-reading pages over and over unable to focus on the words her eyes crossed.

Beastboy mindlessly flipped through channels on the TV. His mind was racing with thoughts and couldn't seem to focus on anything the TV displayed.

Terra sat at the table in the kitchen with a hot dinner in front of her. She was starving but couldn't bring herself to eat anything. Instead she poked at her food with her fork as her cast lay gently in her lap. Her parents ate dinner quietly as they looked from their daughter to each other with concern for their little girl's mental state.

Starfire sat on the roof staring at the stars. They always had brought her hope and comfort... But this time... she felt none. She felt alone. She felt like her world had ended. She felt cold from the small breeze of the ocean that washed up on the island of the Tower. Her mind was buried in sadness. How could she lead the Titans with him gone? She felt Dick had made a huge mistake in leaving her in charge. And as if reading her mind she was answered shortly after...

"Don't worry," a voice carried across the air behind her. She whipped around instantly recognizing the voice, "you're going to be an amazing leader."

Starfire found herself staring at a familiar sight. One she hadn't seen since she fought the villain Warp.

A tall dark figure dressed from head to two in black stood in front of her. The only other color on his uniform was a blue eagle spread across the chest and a mask in the shape of a "V" covering his eyes.

"R-Robin?!" Starfire exclaimed.

"I told you to call me Dick," Richard chuckled.

Starfire flew with intense speed falling into his arms as he wrapped his arms around her. She began balling into his shoulder as she gripped him tightly as if she were dreaming and if she let go she might wake up. He pulled away keeping his arms around her waist. They stared into each others eyes and in that moment Starfire knew she wasn't dreaming. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in, kissing him fully and deeply with all the passion she had. They shared the moment for a long time taking in every second before Richard finally pulled away.

"But if we're ever in battle..." He said as Starfire ogled his new look with desire.

"Call me... Nightwing."


End file.
